Oblivion
by RenoLuvver
Summary: Just changed the title. Previously "Being a Turk is not just fun and games, or is it?" This story begins like you would expect any "prank story" to begin. But stick around because you'll quickly discover it goes a lot deeper than the surface... RenoxElena
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Another story! Hurray! This was actually not what I was intending to post next, but it actually got written first so...=P Oh well. As you will hopefully notice, this is supposed to be pretty funny. There may or may not be some serious stuff too. I just don't think I could write a story without a bit of seriousness at least! =P Now please bare with me, because I myself am really not sure where this is going to go...it could end up being ten chapters, or fifty, I really have no idea. It depends on whether or not I decide to incorporate another idea I had...we'll see. Anyway, go ahead and read this and please tell me what you think! I'm usually pretty funny so let's see if this is humorous or not. xD_

"Reno!" Elena's angry scream could probably be heard through the whole Shinra building. The girl was in the hall. She had just fallen prey to Reno's latest 'project'. One of the many he pursued to distract himself from working.

"Yes? Can I help you, Elena?" Reno replied calmly, a charming smile on his face that Rude found more disturbing than anything. The redhead turned to look at the other Turk with mischievously sparkling eyes. Hearing Elena's shoes click as she swiftly headed toward the room, Reno got up from his desk, carefully positioning a full glass of water behind him. When the female Turk stormed into the room, covered head to toe in powdery, white flour, he was leaning casually on the edge of his desk.

"Oh my, you seem to have run into a nasty situation," he commented blithely, "Whatever could have happened?"

"You _know_ what happened, jerk!" She jabbed a finger at his chest, leaving a small white mark.

"Be careful, you might get me dirty," Reno grinned. Elena huffed and rubbed her hands all over his chest and arms, smearing him in flour.

"Take that!"

"Relax, 'Laney," he said, casually dusting the flour off his rumpled jacket and shirt, "It could be worse."

"Really?" She was seething.

"Oh yeah, you could be wet too." While he said this, Reno pulled the glass of water from behind his back and poured it over her head. Elena gasped, her enflamed anger leaving her speechless as the soft, white powder covering her swiftly changed to a wet, oozy goop. Smirking, Reno set the empty glass down and then walked around to sit in his chair again.

"You look nice today, Elena. Did you do some thing different with your hair?" He looked up at the shocked girl, aquamarine eyes simply shining with laughter.

"I'm going to kill you," she whispered, fists clenched at her sides, "I swear I'm going to kill you just as soon as I decide how."

"I'd like to see you try," Reno shot back quickly, then a sly smile took over his face and he leaned back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head and examining the ceiling above him, "After all, you are _just_ a girl. Hardly a match for a man."

"I am too more than a match for you, you stupid little sexist bastard!" Elena was shouting now. She had smacked her hands down on Reno's desk. Rude watched the two of them with a sickened fascination as Reno shooed her away from his desk with a file. The redhead made sure to push her every button that would make her fly into a rage. It was like watching someone skydiving, the queasy feeling seeing someone free-fall through the air, paired with the excitement and thrill.

By this time Tseng had showed up to see what all the noise was about. He stood watching Elena yell until she was red in the face and hoarse, while Reno sat calmly, quietly making comments engineered just to push her over the edge.

"I'm not getting involved," the man stated, turning back into his office just as Elena noticed him and began pleading for him to punish Reno somehow.

"Save me, Tseng! Save me!" Reno mocked, using an exaggerated high-pitched voice.

"Shut up!" Elena glared, going slightly red.

"You like him, don't you," Reno teased, "Don't try to deny it, just admit it! You know you do."

"_Shut up_!" she hissed, turning more red, "I do not." She crossed her arms, the movement making an odd squishing sound because of the goop she was covered in.

"Sure. Whatever you say, blondie."

"I hate you," Elena backed away from Reno's desk, looking down at her self. She was a complete mess. "Tseng, I'm going home to take a shower," she called, "I'll be back soon." Reno smirked at her with a knowing smile. She did her best not to look at him, turning away and heading out the door.

Elena had shed her filthy clothes, piling them neatly on a chair to be dealt with later. Now she let the steaming water run over her, washing the sticky flour from her hair and face. _Reno's such a damned jerk,_ she thought angrily, toweling her hair mostly dry before reaching for the blow dryer. _Why can't he just be normal and serious about his job like the rest of us? _Clean clothes, a bit of make-up, and she was ready to go back to work. _He's fine with missions, but moment paperwork comes up, he acts like a child! _Elena glared at Reno when she walked in the door, but didn't say anything. The redhead grinned hugely at her but didn't say a word either. _Why can't he just be mature about every aspect of his job? _Sighing, really more of a grumble, she noticed Reno had changed her screensaver for the eleventh time to a slideshow of pictures of himself. Refusing to even look at him, she didn't bother to change it. _I won't play your little game anymore. _The only reward she got was a snicker.

"I knew it would grow on you," Reno's voice almost shattered her resolve to ignore him. She kept her attention focused on the unfilled report before her. "Hmm, you're not yelling at me. Got that rage under control, have we, 'Laney?" It required super-human strength, but Elena did not utter a sound, nor even shoot him one of the piercing glares she was mentally directing his way. "You know, it's a pity because you're actually very cute when you're angry."

"Oh just shut up will you!" Elena turned on him, all thoughts of maintaining a cold and indifferent aloofness crushed in an instant. _Shouldn't of looked_, she realized, too late. Her anger was only fed by the growing smile on his face. "Don't you have some work to do? Anything to keep you from bugging me?"

Reno looked thoughtfully at the massive stack of undone paperwork in the corner of his desk. "No," he said lazily. Elena stared at him a moment longer before turning back to her work with a huff. _Calm down, don't let him get the better of you. It's not that big of a deal! If he wants to act like a child, he can, just don't let him drag you down to his level. _Carrying on her internal pep-talk, Elena managed to get through the rest of the day with no further outbursts, even though Reno whistled every song she knew, purposefully out of tune.

By the time she could leave, Elena had a headache and wanted nothing more than to get back to her apartment and settle down with a book in the blessed, blessed silence. Hurrying out, she slowed before leaving the building, preferring to walk at a more comfortable pace. Looking over her shoulder as she pushed the glass door open, she saw Reno across the large room, ambling along with his hands in his pockets. She frowned instinctively, pressing on to leave him behind as quickly as possible. It briefly crossed her mind that the grin she usually saw was missing and he had been slouching and dragging his feet. _He's unhappy,_ she thought vaguely. This observance was quickly forgotten, replaced by memories of his antics of the morning.

_Author's Note: So you might have noticed already that there is a twinge of seriousness. I just can't imagine writing something relatively plotless and I can't think of a plot that could go along with a bunch of random pranks and funny moments in general. =P Please, please let me know what you guys think, my readers' opinions are valuable! Thanks so much for reading, and don't forget to review! xD_


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: An update! I'm so sorry for the wait, I was extremely busy for awhile there. I have updated now! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it! It's helpful for me to know what people think of my new stories, so I know what you guys like, and don't like. Helps me to write things you will enjoy better in the future! _

Elena woke up the next morning, right on time as usual. Enjoying the peaceful stillness of the morning, she took a warm shower, and enjoyed a steaming cup of coffee. In the midst of her peaceful, calm morning, an unwanted image of Reno popped into her head. She could just hear his teasing laughter. She glared into her coffee and her hand clenched just at the thought. _Idiot bugs me even when he's not here! _Suppressing it quickly, Elena focused deeply on the familiar scent of the coffee in her hand, the gentle morning light in her kitchen, the serene silence disturbed only by the clink of the mug, anything that didn't have red hair or love to tease her.

With a sigh, she got up, salvaging the scraps of her ruined morning. Washing the mug quickly, she pulled her jacket on and locked the door carefully behind her as she headed to work.

"What are you doing?" Elena's voice was strained, she tried not to yell at him before he'd even done anything. Reno grinned at her. He was standing in front of the main door to the building, just standing there. He'd been standing there for quite some time already.

"I'm waiting, 'Lena. Good morning to you too." He looked straight ahead, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He was clearly pleased with himself.

"For what?" She asked, even though her better judgment told her to ignore it and move on.

"To be twenty minutes late. I woke up on time this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, so I just came here to wait instead."

"Why don't you just go in now and be on time?" Elena felt a headache coming on. She kept mentally kicking herself for even carrying on this conversation. She was just giving in to his stupid little whims.

"I'm _always_ twenty minutes late! I have a tight schedule to keep to," he said with mock seriousness. Elena opened her mouth to reply, but then thought twice. Snapping her mouth closed, she turned sharply on her heel and walked into the building herself, leaving Reno to wait out the remainder of his time by himself.

As Elena sat at her desk, sorting through what she would need to do that day, she couldn't help but continually glance at the clock, much to her annoyance. Precisely twenty minutes from when she had arrived, Reno swaggered in the door, grinning as usual. Rude didn't even look up but Elena watched the redhead all the way to his desk. He plopped down in his chair and winked at her. She glared and turned sharply back to her work.

After clicking around on his computer for a minute, Reno opened a desk drawer and pulled out a roll of duct-tape. Humming tunelessly, he got up and walked casually over to Tseng's closed office door. Without a moment's pause or hesitation he proceeded to quietly stick the tape on Tseng's door. It was in long strips, all along the edge of the door where it met the frame. Even Rude looked up to watch this. Reno took great care in making sure the door was sufficiently stuck to the frame.

He stood back and admired his work. Smiling, he sat at his desk again, putting the duct-tape back in the drawer and turned his attention to his computer.

"Reno," Elena folded her arms across her chest. The redhead didn't pay any attention to her, instead he leaned a little closer to the screen in front of him and frowned slightly. "Reno," Elena said again, louder this time. Reno looked up at her with faked surprise.

"Did you call me?"

"Yes, I did, Reno," Elena smiled, but it was completely lacking in any kind of kindness or mirth.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Reno replied with a small laugh, "I was so caught up in the work I was doing here that I didn't hear you at first." The big smile he gave her was so innocent looking, that it was incredibly fake. Elena narrowed her eyes.

"First of all, we all know you don't do any work. Second, why is Tseng's door duct-taped closed?"

"Well I think it's unfair of you to accuse me of not working, but I'll maturely overlook that misinformed comment of yours," Reno looked at her condescendingly.

"Oh please! As if _anything_ you ever do could even be considered remotely mature!" Elena's temper was quickly flaring up, "And you didn't answer my question. Why have you duct-taped Tseng's door closed?"

"Oh I did do that, didn't I…" Reno turned to look at the door in question, "Hmm. I'm not really sure why, 'Lena." He spun his chair lazily to face her. "It just seemed like something that could be entertaining." The blonde Turk rolled her eyes and went back to her work, doing her best to not get dragged into a pointless argument. Reno observed this effort of hers with interest. Kicking his feet up on his desk, he picked up a pen and began to click it open and closed.

"Also I knew it would bother you," he said this softly, almost to himself. He flopped his head to the side to grin at her, awaiting her reaction.

"Why do you always do that?" Elena turned on him, her temper boiling over in an instant, "Why is it that you just have to do everything you can to make me mad? Is it really so important to you that my job be as annoying as possible?" The girl's angry rant was interrupted by a ripping sound from the taped door and muffled curses. This new development drew their attention. With a bit of jerking, Tseng ripped the door opened and barely glanced at the tape before turning instantly to Reno.

"I know it's hard for you, but try and act like an adult please," Tseng looked quite annoyed, "And Elena, I understand completely, but do try and control your anger."

"Yes, sir," Elena muttered, going back to her work rather red in the face. Reno simply grinned up at his boss happily.

"Clean up the tape," Tseng gave Reno a final glare before returning to his office.

Elena gripped her pen so hard her knuckles were turning white. _Whatever he's doing, I refuse to give him any attention._ Fixing her eyes on the paper in front of her, she saw out of the corner of her eye, Reno roll across the room in his chair again. He'd been doing it for fifteen minutes now without ceasing. Curiosity getting the better of her, Elena snapped her head up and watched him intently.

The redhead was riding in his chair back and forth in front of Tseng's open office door, throwing paper clips towards the other man's desk. He appeared to be attempting to time his throws perfectly so they went through the door and into the penholder on Tseng's desk. Elena could do nothing but watch. What could she say that would do any good anyhow?

"'Laney can I have some paper clips?" Reno had abandoned his chair in a search for more ammunition.

"No," Elena looked away and focused on her computer screen, trying to look busy in the hopes that he would just go away. _I should know better by now._ Sure enough Reno showed no signs of going anywhere.

"Please? I know you have some. You always have tons of paper clips in your drawer. Come on, 'Lena, it's not like you need them," he whined, "No one could ever use as many paper clips as you have in a whole lifetime of paperwork!"

"Fine, take them!" Elena jerked her drawer open and threw a small box of paper clips at him, "Just leave me in peace." Watching the redhead happily go back to his chair and carry on with his game, she was secretly glad it was Tseng's penholder he chose as a target, and not hers.

_Tseng must be a saint…_The man hadn't said a word, or moved from his desk. He continued doing his work as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. _Then again, Reno acting up is ordinary_. Elena inwardly groaned in annoyance, and tried to ignore Reno. He eventually ran out of paper clips and, surprisingly, didn't ask for more. Instead he settled at his desk, kicked his feet up, laid his head back, and appeared to be taking a nap.

"What time is it?" Reno asked lazily. No one answered him. "'Laney, what time is it?"

"There's a clock on the wall practically just in front of you. Also on your computer which _is _directly in front of you_._"

"Yeah, but I'd have to open my eyes and move my head to see those. It's much easier for you to just tell me," he said happily. Sighing Elena glanced at the clock.

"It's two thirty."

"Thanks, 'Lena." She didn't reply.

All was silent for quite some time until Reno spoke again.

"'Laney, what time is it?"

Reno continued to ask about the time every thirty minutes until it was time to go. Tseng came out of his office, and knocked Reno's feet off his desk.

"Elena, Rude, you may go. Reno," the man looked at the redhead sternly, "You're going to stay and pick up the paper clips you carelessly tossed about. You can leave when they are all off the floor." With this the man left, followed closely by Elena and Rude.

"You brought it upon yourself," Rude muttered to Reno on his way out.

"Don't trip on the elevator," Reno called merrily after them all.

"I can't put up with his immaturity much longer," Tseng sounded tired and annoyed. The three were riding down the elevator together.

"He drives me insane! He spends the whole day goofing off," Elena ranted. Rude just quietly nodded in agreement. The shiny metal doors slid open silently when they reached the lobby. They all stepped out, but Elena quickly stepped back in.

"I forgot my purse," she explained, "I'll see you both tomorrow."

"See you in the morning," Tseng said. Rude just gave a small wave.

Elena walked back into their room, heading straight for her desk to grab the purse she'd left there. Reno looked up at her from the floor, where he was sitting, surrounded by the small pieces of metal. The constant teasing smile was gone, replaced with a rather dead expression.

"I thought you'd all left," he said, his voice devoid of the teasing tone.

"I forgot my purse," Elena said, slightly thrown off by the sudden change of attitude.

"Is that all? I thought maybe you just hadn't seen enough of me today," he managed a devilish grin, although it was far from the standards he usually kept up during the day.

"Shut up, Reno," she headed for the door, now with her purse on her shoulder. Her voice was less harsh than normal. She gave him one last curious look before leaving again. _What's up with him? He acts so different when no one's around, or when he thinks no one's around._ She thought of him picking up all those paper clips one by one all night and almost turned around to go help him, but a clock in the hall reminded her of his constant demands for the time. _His mess, he can clean it up._ Elena picked up her pace, feeling the slightest bit guilty for leaving him.

_Author's Note: Hope this chapter was just as good/better than the last. I'm working hard! Please do drop a line and let me know what you think! xD I appreciate it guys! Watch for the next update!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: So a couple of people actually did offer suggestions, and they basically said the next chapter (this chapter!) needed to be a bit different. I must agree, the first two did sort of follow a ''formula" if you will. xD So I tried to mix this one up a bit, I realize that it's not very different, please bear with me, it will get different soon, I promise. I just have to get to that point. xD Anyway, for those of you who offered that suggestion, please let me know if you think this "worked". xD I also want to thank you guys for your suggestions because they really do help. Thanks! _

_In other news, I just heard about Advent Children Complete the other day. I'm kicking myself for not having heard about it sooner. I'm so excited about it! I saw a couple of the trailers on youtube and I swear, my world will crumble into dust if I don't see that movie soon. Sadly, it's only being released on blu-ray for those of you who don't know, and I DON'T HAVE A BLU-RAY PLAYER!!!! I'm so sad. Anyway, I'm won't burden you all with my troubles any longer!! xD Enjoy the update! Read, review, repeat! _

Reno stumbled down the abandoned, ill-lit street. The dizziness kept getting worse, until the ground beneath his feet felt like it was moving. Falling heavily against a brick wall, he watched everything spin around him. The erratic movement was nauseating so he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. Raindrops fell steadily on his face and neck, soaking his hair and clothes. The cold water helped ward off the drowsiness. He wasn't going to be able to walk much farther at this rate. Luckily he was already on his street. _At least I think this is my street._ He opened his eyes to briefly look about him, before leaning his head back again. _This is actually my apartment. _Even though he was so close, Reno didn't want to go in yet. _There's nothing in there to get back to anyway. _Out here there was the rain. Keeping his face tilted up to catch the cold drops, he sunk to the ground.

_Dammit, why'd you get so drunk again? _Anger flaring up suddenly, he slammed a fist into the cracked pavement, making a small splash in the puddle that was there. He hardly felt the pain as his hand started throbbing slightly. He never meant to get drunk, just a drink or two to finish off the day. Uttering a tiny, mirthless laugh, Reno looked down, watching the water drip off his face, splashing on the concrete. _Who are you kidding? You know you're going to get drunk every time. You want to get drunk. You…_ What was he thinking about again? His mind was fuzzy, making thoughts hard to form, and even harder to hold on to. _That's one good thing. Can't focus, don't have to dwell on anything painful. _

Reno pushed his crimson, wet hair out of his eyes. The rain. Now there was something he liked. The rain made you feel…protected. Alone in your own world. _A good kind of alone. _Not the bad kind. No, Reno could never like anything that made you feel the bad kind of alone. He experienced too much of that already.

He sat in the rain for several minutes, just feeling each individual drop that touched his skin. Eventually, turning his aquamarine eyes up to the sky one last time, he pulled himself off the ground and continued home.

Slamming the door to his apartment behind him, Reno didn't bother to turn on any lights. Tripping over a chair and various other obstacles, he shed his soaked clothes, dropping them at random as he made his way to his bedroom. Pulling on a pair of sweatpants, he fell into bed, barely managing to pull a blanket over his cold body before sleep overcame him.

Elena glanced up at the clock, hardly daring to hope. She hadn't run into Reno on her way into work, and he hadn't come in exactly twenty minutes late as usual. In fact, it had been a whole hour and there was no sign of him. _Maybe he's not coming today._ Elena got excited just thinking about all the work she could finally get done in the blessed silence. Happily, almost giddy, she straightened up her desk and continued working.

"No," Elena groaned quietly, looking up at the sound of shuffling feet to see Reno just coming through the door, slouching, hands in his pockets. His bright aquamarine eyes were hidden beneath the dark goggles he usually wore on his head. He didn't say a word, and didn't look at anyone as he made his way to his desk and collapsed in his chair.

Elena watched him, surprised and a little confused at his behavior. She had been expecting insulting, smart-ass comments, and childish pranks. But this? Reno leaned his elbows on his desk, supporting his head. With a grumbling sigh, he pulled the goggles off and tossed them aside, blinking at the florescent lights overhead. His eyes were slightly bloodshot with darkish circles underneath. _What's wrong with him? _Elena's annoyance that he'd actually shown up to work had faded, giving way to a grudging curiosity.

Tseng stepped out of his office and leaned against the doorframe, a tight smile on his lips.

"Well look who decided to join us," the man said, voice dripping with fake cheer.

"Shut the hell up, Tseng," Reno muttered, rubbing his temples.

"You're very late, with no explanation. We would have been worried if we'd cared enough."

"I'm here now, so just leave me alone," Reno snapped. Tseng stood watching the redhead smugly for a moment before going back into his office. Reno mumbled barely audible curses against Tseng, and the world in general. Elena watched, stunned, as he actually opened one of the files from the mountainous pile on his desk and proceeded to fill out the paperwork inside with the scribbles he called handwriting.

Elena turned to look at Rude, who was also watching their partner in astonishment. The two looked at each other. Elena pulled up the internet on her computer and sent Rude an instant message. 'What's up with Reno?'

'Don't know.' Rude replied. 'Hangover?' They both watched Reno take a couple of aspirin.

'Hangover.' Elena confirmed. 'I don't know about you, but I'm going to take advantage of the peace while it lasts.'

'Agreed.' Rude turned back to his work, while Elena gave Reno one more glance before going back to hers.

As it turned out, they were wise for using the undisturbed time to get work done since, several hours later, Reno's hangover seemed to have worn off, at least enough for him to think about being cheerful again. Having gotten through one file, he had apparently decided this was enough work for one day and proceeded to go through his usual methods of driving his coworkers insane.

Whistling well-known melodies completely out of tune and clicking pens open and closed rapidly bored him eventually. Reno resorted to stealing items off Rude and Elena's desks and switching them. Rude had Elena's stapler and her purse on his desk while Elena had his penholder and computer mouse on hers. Neither of them said anything. It was an unspoken agreement that they would ignore Reno's ridiculous behavior in the hopes that he would stop if he got no attention. It never worked, but they could try. Elena only spoke up when Reno tried to take the papers she was working on right out from beneath her pen.

"Reno, stop it! I'm trying to work, like you should be doing," she snatched her papers back from him.

"Who says I'm not _trying_ to work? I'm trying. I just… can't work right now," he grinned mischievously at her.

"Try harder," Elena said through clenched teeth.

"Okay, okay," he said, putting his hands up as if to block an attack, "I guess I could file that…" Reno looked at the paperwork he had filled out earlier. Elena blinked in surprise as he picked up the file and ambled over to the block of filing cabinets that were against the wall.

Smiling smugly, triumphantly, she cracked her knuckles and got back to her work. _Reno can be dealt with. All he needs is a firm command. Congratulations, Elena. _Extremely pleased with herself, she merrily wrote away, signing her name where required with many flourishes.

"What the…Reno!" Tseng turned around to glare at the redhead, who had finished his 'filing' quite some time ago.

"Yes? What can I do for you, Tseng?" Reno looked up innocently from his chair, where he was sitting with his feet kicked up, fingers laced together across his stomach.

"You can start be explaining why the files are all mixed up," Tseng replied, his voice clearly showing the anger he was just able to hold back as he swiftly flipped through all the cabinets. They were all complete chaos. The neat and organized filing system so precious to Tseng was entirely destroyed.

"Oh, that. I like it better that way."

"Well, I don't, and nobody else will either. Fix it right now," Tseng tossed the file he'd been holding to Reno before stomping back to his office. "Oh, one more thing," he paused in the doorway, "Last night, when I asked you to pick all the paper clips off the floor, I meant for you to put them away where they belong. Not to put them on the shelf in there." Reno smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but Tseng cut him off, anticipating the redhead's statement, "And no, they do not belong on the shelf. Once you're through with the filing, you can pick them up _again_, and this time put them where they belong. I expect you'll be staying late today as well." Tseng finished his icy speech with a tight-lipped smile and went back into his office.

"You should have made it more clear, Tseng," Reno called after him, "If you'd wanted me to put them where they belonged. You just said you wanted them off the floor. I'm doing my best, Tseng, really I am, it's just so difficult to understand what you want." Reno ended with a grieved, hurt tone.

Tseng responded by slamming his door shut, which was something he hadn't done since the incident with the duct-tape.

Once again, the three other Turks left Reno fixing the mess he'd gotten himself into. Rude said something quietly to Reno as he passed.

"You'd better come in on time, well _your_ version of on time tomorrow."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," Reno replied evasively. Rude stopped and shot him a look.

"There's no need to be so late to work if you go straight home after you leave," Rude said pointedly. Elena, intrigued by this conversation, had slowed to a stand still right outside the door, straining to hear every word.

"So that's what you're getting at," Reno's voice had changed, still retaining the almost teasing tone, but with a touch of seriousness, "If I feel like going out for a drink, that's _my_ problem, don't you think?" Silence. "Ok, fine. I'll try not to." A grunt of satisfaction from Rude, whose footsteps headed for the door, causing Elena to hurriedly walk down the hall, trying to look like she hadn't been eavesdropping. "I'm not promising anything! Don't be surprised if I'm late," Reno called after Rude.

Elena turned from where she was, already halfway down the hall, to see Rude sigh and shake his head. _So Reno drinks. Heavily. Why am I not surprised? _Elena glanced sideways at Rude as they both rode down the elevator, wondering if he suspected she had heard. _Now that I think about it, he does come into work with hangover-ish symptoms frequently. _Intrigued by her newly found knowledge, but feeling guilty for listening in, she waved goodbye to Rude as they left the building and headed home.

_Author's Note: So what did you guys think????? Please leave me a review (even a short one!!!) and let me know! Thanks so much for reading guys! _


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Another chapter!! Hurray! This one isn't as serious as the last, but we're definately getting somewhere plot-wise. I hope you are all enjoying this so far, I know I am. xD You know, I was reading some really awesome fanfics last night and it occured to me that I could be doing so much better...so I tried really hard to step-up my writing. I had already written most of this chapter, so it would only really be toward the end. But I'm trying! xD Any advice is welcome, I would like to point out again that the only things I've ever written are posted on this site...so yeah. Noob! xD Anyway, enough of my random ramblings, you guys want to read! Read, review, repeat! _

"I don't even know what to do with him anymore," Tseng stepped out of his office seconds after they had all shown up, except for Reno of course, who was always late, "Reno just doesn't know when to stop does he?"

"What's he done this time?" Elena asked warily.

"Come and see for yourselves." Rude and Elena followed Tseng back into his office. Everything was just as normal except…except that all the items which were normally on top of Tseng's desk were now somehow fixed to the ceiling, arranged exactly as they usually were on the desk.

"Oh my…" Elena stared up at the ceiling, "He goes to such extreme lengths just for a random prank! Look, he even managed to keep the pens from falling out of your penholder. If only he put that energy towards work…"

"None of us would ever have to fill out any paperwork again," Rude commented quietly.

A shout from the hall drew their attention away from the ridiculous set-up on the ceiling. Going to look, they saw Reno coming down the hall at his usual lazy pace, carrying a bag of potatoes. The poor, innocent other Shinra employee that had the bad luck to be in this hall at this time, was rubbing his head and giving Reno a look that was both frightened and angry. A single potato was on the floor, rolling slowly. Seeing the three other Turks standing there, Reno smiled and waved happily.

"Hey, you all came to greet me!"

"Reno, what on earth on you doing?" Elena demanded.

"Throwing potatoes at people," he replied without hesitation and without cracking even a small grin, "I thought it was obvious." He plopped down at his desk and smiled up at them, seemingly oblivious to the stunned looks on their faces.

"Well, I'll be in my office," Tseng didn't even attempt to point out that Reno couldn't walk around throwing things at people. Just before the man reached the safety of his office, Reno plucked a potato from the bag and threw it at him. The vegetable bounced off the man's shoulder and rolled away on the floor. Tseng stopped just long enough to shoot a piercing glare at the redhead before slamming his office door behind him.

Reno didn't throw any more potatoes for quite some time, instead messing around, performing his pathetic imitation of work. Elena heard a tell-tale thump and looked up to see Rude staring at a potato that was on his desk. Sadly, she was also just in time to see a potato flying straight for her face.

"Ow, dammit!" Elena rubbed her nose and glared at the offending co-worker, "What the hell?"

"I _did_ tell you I was throwing potatoes at people," Reno said, "So it's not like I didn't warn you."

"Reno, you are just sooo…" Elena struggled to find a word annoying and enraging enough to describe him.

"Sexy?" Reno suggested, "Thanks, I know. Don't worry, babe, you'll get over me."

"Did I ever mention how much I hated you?" she glared daggers at him.

"Aw, I'm touched 'Laney, really I am," he placed a hand over his heart, and grinned. She didn't even grace that with a reply. The seconds ticked by in silence. A full minute passed before Reno spoke again.

"You know…you didn't deny you thought I was sexy," he said mischievously. Elena smacked her forehead down on her desk.

Rude and Elena both looked up at the next thump, accompanied by an exclamation. Reno had apparently gotten bored of sitting at his desk and had decided to instead go sit in the hall by the elevator. Every now and then some poor, unsuspecting soul would get hit by a potato. Elena had counted at least twenty thumps by now. She sighed and shook her head. No one was doing a thing to stop him. _Too scared since he _is_ a Turk, I guess._

When she heard two thumps in quick succession, Elena got up from her desk and went into Tseng's office, knocking on the frame as she walked in.

"You've got to make him stop, sir," she said, "He's going to end up getting us all in trouble if he keeps throwing things at people."

"You're right," Tseng sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead, "I'll go talk to him." The man got up and headed toward the hall. He was walking through the doorway into the hall, when something tripped him and he fell, too surprised to catch himself.

"What the…" he looked back at the doorway in confusion, only now catching sight of the super thin, transparent fishing line that was fastened tightly across the doorway at knee level. From down the hall came Reno's hysterical laughter.

"You should have seen your face!" he managed to get out, "That was awesome."

"No, it was not awesome, Reno, in fact it was very far from awesome," Tseng picked himself up off the floor, "It was stupid and childish, just like this potato stunt you're pulling." He ripped the fishing line from the doorway and tossed it to the floor. "You're going to stop this right now," Tseng snatched the almost empty bag of potatoes from Reno, "I'm sure you can find something productive to do with your time instead of this."

"Throwing potatoes at people _was_ productive!" Reno insisted, "You should have seen how much faster everyone moved once they realized I was throwing things at them. Productivity probably increased significantly today." Tseng completely ignored the redhead's protests and went back to his office with the confiscated potatoes.

"Rude, could you bring this file to Rufus? He wanted it as soon as I was done with it. Thanks," Tseng handed the file Rude, who took it and headed off. Reno had perked up upon hearing this exchange of words, and watched patiently as Tseng went back into his office. Getting up, Reno poked his head into the hall and, apparently satisfied, went back to his desk and started digging through the drawers.

This activity drew Elena's attention and she watched, suspicious as Reno searched his desk for who-knew-what.

"Ah ha!" Reno whipped something from a drawer. Before Elena even had time to process the object in his hand, he had began to spray paint a pink heart on the front of Rude's desk.

"Reno! What are you doing? Stop it!" Elena jumped out of her chair, but didn't approach the redhead. After all, he was armed with spray paint.

"Oh, come on. We all know Rude needs to brighten up!" Reno grinned wickedly as he continued to spray paint hearts and flowers, all in pink, on Rude's desk. Drawn by Elena's outburst, Tseng came to see what was going on.

"Really, Reno?" Tseng didn't even look angry this time, just annoyed, "Are you really so bored that you can't come up with anything else to do? Anything that's _not_ some kind of idiotic prank that is."

"Why, yes, Tseng. Office work is so boring, this is way more fun," Reno replied with mock seriousness. Before their banter could continue, Rude came back, stopping in his tracks in the doorway. He recovered his poise almost instantly and went to sit at his desk.

"One of these days you're going to get into some real trouble, Reno," was all the man said.

"We need to have a talk, Reno. Well, really you need to sit in my office quietly and listen to me talk," Tseng said.

"Ooh, scary," Reno hopped up from the floor and tossed the can of spray paint into his chair before heading into Tseng's office.

"I'm sorry you have to put up with him," Tseng apologized to Elena and Rude, "Hopefully we can talk some sense into him. I'm getting rid of this." Here Tseng picked up the spray paint and dropped it in the trash.

"I don't think any amount of talking will make him behave," Elena sighed. Rude nodded in agreement.

"I don't really think so either, but I have to try everything, no?" Tseng rubbed his hands together, "Well this is going to be obnoxious," he muttered, turning into his office and closing the door behind him.

About half an hour later, Reno emerged, looking slightly subdued. Tseng triumphantly watched him go to his desk and start working. Elena also watched Reno, in utter shock. _Did it actually work? _Reno looked up and winked at her. _Uh oh. _He was acting. Did he have something up his sleeve? Or was he actually going to lay off the pranks for awhile? Whatever the situation was, Reno was calmly and quietly filling out paperwork for the time being, slender fingers flipping through papers swiftly. _Enjoy it while it lasts_. Elena seemed to find herself saying that a lot lately. She didn't dare to hope that maybe Reno would behave for good this time.

"Alright, I have to attend a meeting with Heidegger. I'll be back later," Tseng tucked his cell phone into his jacket pocket before leaving. Reno watched him go, a blank expression on his face, which quickly turned to a devious smirk. Flicking his flaming red bangs from his eyes, he twirled the pen in his fingers before going back to his work.

Elena watched with apprehension. As nice as it was when Reno behaved, it was almost more stressful than when he was pulling some prank. At least then you knew what he was up to. Now she had no idea. _Just keep an eye on him…_Elena got considerably less work done since she snapped her head up and locked her eyes on Reno every time the man made the slightest move. He began to notice her excessive jumpiness and soon, every time she looked up, his aquamarine eyes met hers, twinkling with internal laughter.

"Nervous, 'Lena?" he asked as she glared at him, angry since he had just half-jumped out of his chair suddenly to startle her.

"No," she lied, scoffing and tossing her medium length blonde hair over her shoulder. She tried hard not to look at him after that, but, of their own will, her eyes kept sliding over to peek at the redhead. To the untrained eye, Reno seemed engrossed in his work, but Elena knew better. The slightest smirk, almost invisible, hovered around his mouth and his eyes sparkled. Obviously there was something going on that only he was aware of.

Finally there was some real action. Tossing the pen aside and kicking his feet up, Reno casually picked his phone up from his desk, fiddling with it for a few moments. Elena had her eyes glued on him; his inactivity had her nerves completely fried. Acting as if on impulse, he snapped the phone open and poked a few buttons slowly, deliberately. With a slight flourish, Reno pushed the last button and put the phone to his ear, taking his feet off the desk and spinning his chair lazily.

"What are you doing, Reno? Who are you calling?" Elena questioned. Turning to look at her, he winked and stuck his tongue out.

"I don't have to tell you anything. Hush, it's ringing." Apparently something about this struck him as hysterical, because he started to laugh. No one picked up, but Reno didn't hang up for quite some time, choosing to let it ring endlessly. Eventually he flipped the phone shut and slipped it into his pocket. Wiping all traces of laughter off his face, Reno turned back to his work without a word of explanation for the other two.

Elena had resigned herself to never understanding what that had been about, when heavy feet sounded in the hallway, walking quickly and forcefully.

"Reno! You…" Tseng was livid, fuming, "You have gone too far this time."

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, Tseng," the redhead looked up aggravatingly slowly from his work with a cool, calm expression.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!" the man tore his phone from his coat pocket where he'd put it before leaving for his meeting. Throwing it down on Reno's desk, he paced back and forth in a rage, "You changed the ring tone. To Barbie Girl. Barbie Girl, Reno! What the hell were you thinking?" Elena watched Tseng rant with wide eyes. She'd never seen him so mad before. _What _were_ you thinking, Reno? You're not going to be able to get out of this so easy…_

"I was in an important meeting, with Heidegger. President Shinra had stepped in for a moment. The President of this company, Reno! When my phone started ringing, with that…that heinous noise! Since you obviously have nothing to do with your time other than pull these insane pranks, I'll give you something to do. From now on you can personally handle every last mission assigned to the Turks. They're all yours. And I've just discussed several new operations with Heidegger. This should keep you busy so you don't have to resort to 'entertaining' yourself in this pathetic way," Tseng snatched his phone from Reno's desk and stormed into his office, calling behind him one last time before slamming the door, "Every last one, Reno!"

_Author's Note: OOOOO Tseng's mad. xD lol. Well I hope you all liked this chapter, please review and let me know what you thought! I really appreciate the feedback, and of course it always helps. Thanks a ton guys! *hugs for all* =)_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Ok I'm back! I'm so so so so so incredibly sorry for the abscence guys, but it was unavoidable! I have my computer back now so no worries! xD I wrote a super big chapter for you to make up for it ok? I've got to run, so short author's note this time! Enjoy the chapter! Read, review, repeat. xD_

Tseng dropped a thin file on Reno's desk at the end of the day.

"First one. Have it done by tomorrow morning," Tseng stalked out of the room without another word for any of them. Reno flicked the file open, touching it only with his fingertips, as if it would infect him with some kind of disease. Scanning it's contents quickly, he smirked and checked the clock.

"I'll be done with plenty of time to hit the bar," he grinned and grabbed his EMR, snapped the file closed, after glancing over the information once more.

"Maybe you could get a good night's sleep instead of getting completely wasted," Elena suggested sarcastically.

"Where's the fun in that?" Reno leaned against the door frame, tossing his EMR up in the air and catching it, "Unless you plan on joining me for that good night's sleep, 'Laney."

"You're terrible," Elena shook her head. Reno just grinned devilishly and winked, slipping out the door.

The next day, Reno was late as usual, slightly hung-over as usual, and not pulling any pranks which was unusual. Tseng kept him too busy to do anything but read a file, complete the mission, go over another file, complete another mission, and so on. The man was hardly in the building for more than an hour the whole day. Miraculously Reno still found time to tease Elena, and annoy everyone in general. It appeared Tseng was trying to keep him busy during non-work hours as well.

"Surveillance mission," Tseng smacked a file down on the desk, "I need a detailed report about this on my desk before noon tomorrow."

"I guess I should be sober for this," Reno mused, clearly attempting to get on the other man's nerves.

"Yes, Reno," Tseng was exasperated, "You have to be sober for all your missions."

The days continued in much the same way. Reno barely had time to stand still, much less pull any pranks. As time went on, Reno was never seen without either his EMR or a cup of coffee in his hands. Slowly, but surely, he forgot to tease Elena or drop carefully planned sentences with the intention of annoying someone. Instead he spent this time yawning, or taking a five minute nap, before Tseng found him with a new file.

"Took your time with that one," Tseng commented, as Reno walked back into the room after completing yet another mission, "It was a simple hit."

"I got it done, that's all that matters. Don't start bitching about how long it takes me," Reno shot the man a dark look, practically collapsed in his chair, tossing his EMR onto the desk.

"So why did it take you this long? You normally would have had that done in an hour less."

"I lost track of him a few times, that's all. I'm just tired, leave me the hell alone," Reno rubbed his forehead which was creased with a frown. Tseng didn't reply, instead he placed a stack of files on Reno's desk.

"By tomorrow morning," Tseng said over his shoulder as he headed back into his office.

"Shit," Reno muttered, glaring at the offending files. He sighed and took a gulp of coffee. He grimaced. It was cold. _Whatever, better get moving. _He dragged himself up from the chair and grabbed the file on the top of the stack.

Elena had watched him all this time, the tiniest frown of concern on her face. _He's working pretty hard. He looks really tired. _It made sense. He couldn't have been getting much sleep lately since Tseng made sure he had at least one mission to perform overnight as well as his many tasks during the day.

"Where is Tseng getting all these missions from?" Elena quietly asked Rude later when Reno was out and Tseng had his office door closed.

"There's always little things here and there that we haven't ever gotten around to that he can come up with. Also he and Heidegger recently had one of their meetings. There are always lots of new assignments then," Rude said, making one of the longest speeches Elena had ever heard from him.

"It's a relief he's not goofing off anymore," she said, although the joy she expected to experience didn't come. It was there, definitely, just not as strongly as she would have thought. _No body can keep up such a crazy workload for long…_

She waited, day after day, but Tseng showed no signs of running low on missions for Reno, ranging everywhere from the simple stalking of a person displaying suspicious behavior, to actual infiltrations to recover stolen files, etc. The redhead got slower and slower every day, making more and more frequent mistakes.

"Disgraceful for a Turk," Tseng said quietly, but forcefully. Reno had just returned from what was supposed to be the quick and easy 'termination' of a possible threat. Apparently this man had been asking the wrong questions one too many times.

"Well how the hell am I supposed to do a perfect job when I'm forced to operate on less than three hours of sleep a night!" Reno argued from his desk chair, where he sat, slouching so much he was practically lying down, "The bastard's slippery. He must have figured out he was being followed. He turned a corner and the next thing I know, he completely disappeared." Tseng looked at Reno silently for a minute.

"Try again. Tonight. We can't have the word get around that the Turks are capable of failure, even if one of us is a failure," Tseng turned on his heel to go back into his office, "In the meantime, I believe there are several uncompleted missions awaiting your attention. Don't screw up." With these parting words of wisdom, Tseng returned to his office.

"Damn him," Reno muttered angrily, snatching his EMR from the desk along with yet another of the endless files. Rude and Elena looked up at each other briefly from the extra paperwork they were both saddled with since the sudden increase in missions. Neither of them said anything, but their eyes both asked the same question. _Is Tseng going too far? _

"Here, 'Laney," Reno held the file out to her. He had just returned from his afternoon mission, soon to head off after the elusive target he'd missed once already. Elena looked up, amazed that he wasn't trying to annoy her. The teasing tone was gone too, although the aggravating nick name still lived on. What caught her attention at once though, was how the file he was holding out to her quivered.

"Reno, you're shaking," Elena said flatly, looking up into his tired face.

"Am I?" he turned his eyes to his hands, which were indeed shaking slightly, "Caffeine," was the explanation the redhead gave in a tone entirely devoid of life before dropping the file on the girl's desk and heading back to his own. "Sadly it seems to loose it's stimulant effect after a while," He smiled wryly, sighing as he sunk into his chair, leaning his head back and allowing his drooping eyelids to close. This lasted for about five seconds until Tseng showed up.

"Have you gotten all your assignments done?" Tseng asked, although he clearly already knew the answer to this question, "Because if you haven't I can't imagine why you would take a break. Unless of course you thought you had such a little amount of work that you could afford to waste time. If that's the case, I can fix that problem for you."

Reno dragged his eyes open to glare at the man before pulling himself out of his chair without a word. He dug around the mess of identical files littering his desk before finding the right one. He didn't even need to find his EMR since he just kept it strapped to his wrist constantly now.

"Get the job done correctly this time," Tseng said, smugly watching Reno trudge out the door after the man he'd missed earlier, "We've been so productive of late," Tseng directed his words to the remaining Turks, "We can leave early today." He smiled benevolently and locked his office door behind him.

"I think I'll stay," Elena said, the words leaving her mouth almost of their own will. The surprise on Tseng's face was probably mirrored on hers.

"Well, suit yourself, I guess," Tseng turned to Rude questioningly. Rude remained silent, in his way, tapping his pen on the stack of paperwork to get his point across. "Alright, if you both would prefer to stay until our usual quitting time, that's fine with me. Remember to turn all the lights off." With this the Turk leader left with a wave.

Elena and Rude stayed working, in silence for several hours. Neither of them said anything, but they were both waiting for Reno to get back. About an hour or so after their normal quitting time, they began to glance at the clock quite frequently. Rude caught Elena sighing and staring at the redhead's desk while tapping her pen on the paper in front of her. Elena caught Rude glancing up and down the hallway occasionally.

_There's no problem,_ Elena assured herself, _He's just taking longer to complete his missions these days. _It was now three hours past when they should have gone home. Work had virtually halted and the slightest sound from the hallway caused them both to perk up, only to leave them disappointed every time.

"He probably went straight home," Rude said suddenly, watching Elena frown at Reno's desk. He was rewarded by her face clearing significantly.

"Yeah, that's probably it. He's not used to anyone waiting on him." The two were preparing to leave when Reno stumbled in, falling against the doorframe.

"Bastard hired a bodyguard," Reno gasped out, "A damn good one too." Rude moved quickly to support his friend before the redhead collapsed completely onto the floor. Bright red blood seeped through Reno's fingers where he gripped his upper left arm.

"What happened?" Elena demanded, rushing over in an instant as Rude set the other man down in a chair, "You're hurt. Is it bad? Did you get him? Do we need to take you to the hospital?"

"Elena," Rude stopped her ever-quickening stream of questions with the single word, while Reno just stared at her with a dazed look. He didn't appear to even really be hearing her. "Don't go to sleep on us yet, Reno. Let me figure out how bad this really is first."

"Sorry," Elena said, getting a grip and helping Rude take off Reno's jacket so they could see how badly he was injured.

"Knife wound," Rude stated, examining the heavily bleeding gash through the torn shirt, "Yeah, Reno's pretty good at not leaving any openings for bullets, but he's a close-range fighter. Some one pulls a knife on him quickly…" Rude saw no need to finish his sentence. Elena nodded, understanding completely.

"Should we take him to a doctor? Or bandage it up ourselves?" she questioned. Rude stayed silent for a while before making his judgment.

"It's not too bad. It seems to have affected him as if it were worse because of the condition he was already in. An exhausted body doesn't respond well to even the slightest trauma. I say we bandage him up ourselves, give him some painkillers, get him home, and complete the last of his missions for tonight ourselves. Tseng needn't know," Rude finished. Elena nodded and went to fetch the massive first-aid kit they had laying around somewhere.

Gently rolling his sleeve up so they could get to the wound, Elena looked into Reno's worn-out face with concern. It was funny how much his presence didn't bother her when he wasn't trying to be annoying. He was dead asleep already, his hair, which matched the color of his blood, falling in his face.

Silently bandaging up the gash, Rude tossed the first-aid kit aside and stood, pulling Reno's uninjured arm over his shoulders to support him.

"How does he live like this?" Elena looked around herself in shock and slight disgust. They had just let themselves into Reno's apartment and she had found a light switch. She wished she hadn't. The place looked better in the dark. "Had he ever picked anything up in his life?" She examined the mess of clothes, empty beer bottles, and what seemed to be just about everything Reno owned, all thrown about everything. Elena sighed and shook her head. "Let's just find a place to put him down."

After a bit of looking, they found his bedroom. Reno hadn't even stirred he was sleeping so deeply. He still didn't make a sound as they put him down on his bed and Elena tossed a blanket over him.

"Well, we've got a bit more work to do before we turn in for the night," she handed one of the two files to Rude and they left, locking the door behind them with the key they'd found in Reno's pocket.

Reno was roughly dragged from a deep sleep by the shrill and persistent beeping of his alarm clock. Cursing at it as usual, he flopped onto his left side to turn it off. Disoriented since he'd just woken up, Reno hadn't noticed the dull throbbing in his arm. The sudden burst of pain when he turned came as a surprise to him.

"Dammit," he hissed, sucking in a quick breath. He sat up wondering why he was still fully dressed. Slipping out of his jacket and half-out of his shirt, he saw the white bandage, carefully and tightly wrapped around his arm. "Oh," he muttered, as the events of last night came back to him suddenly. Sitting on the night table was a note and a couple small, orange pills.

_We bandaged you up and took you home since you were injured. All your missions for last night have been completed, you'll find what you need to turn into Tseng on your desk. Those pills are the only painkillers you can have until this afternoon. I have the bottle at work. You'll have to come to get them. _

_-Elena_

Reno grinned and dropped the note, pushing his hair from his face. _Trust 'Lena to bribe me to come to work on time with painkillers. _He yawned, refreshed by the several hours of good sleep he'd gotten, but still weary. _Well, better get to work then. _

"You have to stop," Elena stood in the doorway to Tseng's office, speaking abruptly. Tseng looked up, confused.

"What?"

"You have to stop working Reno so hard," she came forward and leaned on the man's desk, "He came back last night with a wound. Apparently the target hired a bodyguard. A 'damn good one' to quote Reno."

"Well he never would have gotten hurt if he'd done the job right the first time," Tseng crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, his face turned stony.

"He would have been able to do it right the first time if he hadn't been completely exhausted since _you've_ been overworking him," Elena's temper was rising.

"I wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't forced me to. You can't deny it's working. When was the last time he pulled on of his ridiculous pranks? You should be delighted, Elena. This is exactly what we've all wanted for …well forever."

"I am happy he's not pulling any pranks, but _this_ isn't what I wanted. Reno is worn out, Tseng! He's making mistakes, which end up getting him injured. What if…" she hesitated for a moment before fixing her disapproving frown on Tseng, "What if one day he doesn't come back. How are you going to feel then? Is that what you want?"

"Of course that's not what I want," Tseng explained with exaggerated patience, "I want him to spend his time working instead of wasting it with the immature jokes he seems to find amusing. He needs to learn a lesson."

"Some good 'learning a lesson' is going to do him if he's dead!" Elena smacked her palms down on the desk, frustrated with the other man's coolness.

"Reno is not going to get himself killed," the man smiled condescendingly, "We both have work to do, and I'm not going to stop using my method of controlling Reno, which is working splendidly to point out, just because you are afraid he will get hurt."

"Fine," Elena gave up, putting her hands up as if in surrender, "I can't tell you what to do. But I can decide what _I'm_ going to do. And I'm going to go with Reno on all these missions from now on."

"Suit yourself," Tseng shrugged and turned back to his computer, dismissing her with a casual wave of the hand. Elena stormed out of his office, slamming the door behind her. Grumbling to herself, she sat in her chair with force. Rude watched her.

"I'll do the paperwork," he simply said. Elena smiled, her anger dying slowly. _Good old, dependable Rude. _The three of them could handle this. _Reno and I can do the missions, Rude will do the paperwork. No problem. _Elena smiled smugly, reveling in the delight of beating Tseng in this round-about way.

When Reno came in, not too long later, he found Elena sitting happily at his desk, going through the files containing the information on the missions Tseng had assigned him for the day.

"What are you doing?" he asked, blinking sleepily.

"I'm going to be going with you on these missions from now on," she hardly looked up from the papers in her hands. Reno frowned and leaned in slightly.

"Just because I got one little cut doesn't mean I need to be babysat," he said disdainfully. Elena raised her eyebrows and leaned in a little herself.

"I'm not going to 'baby-sit' you. I'm going because I don't want you to get hurt anymore," saying these simple words, Elena reached up and fingered the torn fabric of his jacket, "Take this off, I'm going to fix it." She hopped up from Reno's desk and returned to her own, grabbing the needle and thread she'd brought with the intent of repairing his jacket.

Reno wordlessly handed to piece of clothing in question to her, before sitting down in his now vacant chair.

"Don't wear that shirt again," she said, perched on the edge of her desk, bent over the jacket in her lap.

"Why?" Reno asked, surprised.

"It's torn, and blood stained," Elena glanced up at him, with a look that told him this fact should have been obvious.

"There," she said minutes later, handing his jacket back to him, "Fixed. Shall we get started on our missions?"

Reno nodded, quickly chugging a cup of coffee before heading out the door with Elena.

_Author's Note: Ok, one quick thing, I will have limited internet access for a few weeks, so please understand if I'm unable to reply to reviews and messages, or even unable to read updates of yours. =( I can manage to update, but that will be it for awhile. I promise I will be back full force within a month. xD Thanks for reading! You guys rock! Please drop me a line and let me know what you thought of this new chapter. We're moving forward in the plot! xD _


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Hey! Kind of a short chapter, I know. Especially after that last chapter, but I wanted to post something for you guys. I would have updated sooner but I was on vacation at a lake so I was busy during the day and then too tired to write at night...so yeah. I got back today though and I finished this part up and decided to post it! I'll probably write some more before I go to sleep tonight, but I just want to let you guys know that I am back from all my random absences. I will not be going anywhere for more than a month. Even though I still will have limited internet access....I can still write! And I willl. But anyway..enjoy this chapter guys, as always let me know what you think. _

"So why exactly have we been following this guy all morning?" Elena whispered to Reno, even though she already knew the answer. She tried to say something every now and then because she was afraid Reno would fall asleep.

"I dunno, something about 'suspicious activity'," the redhead replied with a yawn. They were both hidden from sight behind several crates in a warehouse in sector 3, "I believe the file said he was 'likely a revolutionary'. Probably just another of those crazy 'save the planet' people. I don't really care. It's not up to me to decide who's on the naughty list or the nice list." He shrugged, settling down on the concrete floor and leaning against the crates.

They'd been following this man for the large part of the morning. He'd wandered over half of Midgar by now, stopping every so often to have a brief conversation with what appeared to be random other citizens. Of course, the two Turks had been taking careful note of everyone their suspect interacted with. Now the man appeared to have ended his roaming, at least for now, and was pacing slowly back and forth in this warehouse.

"Hey, Reno," Elena gave his shoulder a little shove, never taking her eyes off the man, "Another guy just showed up. It's one he talked to earlier."

"That's great," he mumbled without interest, scooting slightly away from her. He curled his arms tighter around himself and continued his half-nap.

"Ok, here's two more," Elena was too interested in what was going on to reprimand Reno for napping, "And another, and, look, they're all here. All the people he talked to…" she murmured. When she got no response from her partner, she risked a quick glance his direction. "Seriously, Reno? Come on, wake up!" Whispering softly, but firmly, Elena reached with her foot and kicked him. Not too hard, just a nudge. He made a tiny noise, but otherwise didn't respond. Kicking him again, harder this time, Elena glanced back to the group of men they were watching. Several of them were now pulling guns and ammunition from their pockets, showing each other. All the while the soft buzz of conversation carried on, too quiet for the Turks to hear.

"They're armed," Elena said, momentarily forgetting her partner was asleep. Looking at him again, she kicked him once more, pretty hard this time.

"Ow!" Reno said, not quite yelling but definitely not a whisper, "What the hell was that for?"

"Shut up!" she hissed, lunging towards him and clamping a hand over his mouth, "You're going to ruin the whole thing!" Sure enough complete silence reigned in the warehouse. Both Reno and Elena were frozen, holding their breath even, waiting for any sort of sound to tell them what the others were doing. Finally, when the silence had gone on for too long, Elena held a finger over her lips, motioning for quiet. Reno rolled his eyes at her as she removed her hand and carefully crawled to the edge of the crates they were hiding behind. Oh so slowly, she peeked around the edge, desperate for an idea of what the now many suspects were doing.

The group was standing still where they had been, crouched and on the alert. Their eyes roamed the building, trying to find where the intruders were hiding. Elena gasped when her eyes locked with one of the men. She instinctively pulled back, but it was too late.

"There's something!" the man shouted to the others and several shots rang out in their direction.

"Shit," Elena clicked the safety off on her gun and hopped up for barely a second to fire a few shots before returning to the relative safety of behind the crates.

"Sorry," Reno said, checking to make sure his own gun was loaded.

"Don't apologize, just shoot." Reno did as he was told, getting up just long enough to take a shot or two. After both had done the same repetition a few times, Reno looked at Elena as the two of them crouched with their backs to the crates.

"This is never going to work. You don't happen to have a grenade on you, do you?" he asked. Elena shook her head, slipping more bullets into her gun.

"Well, let's see," Reno glanced around the area more thoroughly, "Stay down." Without telling her what he had planned, or even hanging around to hear her questions, Reno jumped up and straight out from behind the crates. Standing firmly, completely out in the open, unprotected from anyone who cared to take a shot at him, he fired off many shots in swift succession, before diving behind another row of crates. Listening carefully as he loaded his gun again, Reno smiled at the silence which once again reigned in the warehouse. Every bullet had hit it's mark.

"Are you demented?!" Elena was in his face all of a sudden, grabbing handfuls of his jacket and jerking to get his attention, "How psychotic do you have to be to pull a stunt like that?! Don't ever, ever do anything like that again, do you hear me?" She stopped yelling, but continued glaring at him fiercely, still in his face.

"Relax, 'Laney," Reno said grinning, and leaning forward enough to bridge the small gap she had left between their faces, until their noses touched. This caused Elena to pull back quickly and let go of his jacket with a little shove for good measure. "I knew what I was doing. And it worked didn't it?" He smoothed his jacket as if he cared and maintained his cool attitude even though he was still a bit shaken from the experience.

"You are lucky to be alive, you know that?" Elena whispered, somehow managing to be more menacing than when she was loud.

"Lucky?" Reno's aquamarine eyes flicked up to hers for a brief moment, filled with a complex mess of emotions she couldn't decipher, "Well at least one of us thinks so."

"What?" Elena demanded, than dropped it quickly, "Why did you do that?"

"I guessed it would work. And it did, so I really don't see what you're so mad about."

"Did you ever think what would happen if it didn't work? Did it ever even _occur_ to you that it was more likely that you would get shot and killed?"

"I dunno," Reno shrugged, refusing to look her in the eye, "I just don't really care that much."

"Don't really care if you _die_?" Elena questioned further, her voice getting softer and softer, losing it's menacing tone quickly. Reno still wouldn't look at her, all traces of his teasing grin completely gone. He didn't respond to her question in any way, which told Elena she had hit the nail right on the head. She knelt on the ground in front of him, her hands sitting motionless in her lap. She didn't know how to respond to that. It scared her. _If Reno doesn't care, he'll be reckless. Just like today. He's not going to make it one of these days. _Turning a little cold at the thought, Elena looked up quickly and grabbed Reno's hand.

"Come on, let's clean up and get out of here," she said, getting up with ease. Every last one of the men that had been gathered was dead. Without another word between them, they searched the pockets of the dead men, taking anything that Shinra might want. After several minutes of silence, Elena looked up at Reno, "I care." Their eyes met, Reno holding her gaze for a moment. Something in his expression changed, and he looked away quickly still not saying anything.

_Author's Note: Little more action in this chapter, still pretty serious. I'm afraid there's not much more humor. What can I say? While I tend to be pretty funny in real life, I just prefer to write a serious story. xD Hope you all are ok with that. Anywho, leave me a review and let me know what you think. Even if I don't get the change to reply while my internet access is limited, I promise you I read them and love them and appreciate them. xD Thanks so much for reading you guys. You rock!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: Longer update this time! Very depressing, I think I'm going to start having serious problems myself if I keep writing stuff like this. =P *kidding* And I won't stop, don't worry. Anyhow, I REALLY need to keep this short because I desperately need to go to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow. And then work five hours at work. =( But I have so much to write I'll probably be up for hours tomorrow night. xD Some more developments are coming very soon, for those of you who might be getting bored. Anyhow, read, review, repeat!_

Reno sat motionless on his couch, staring at nothing in particular. The room was softly illuminated by the yellow light from the kitchen. He hadn't bothered to turn any other lights on. It was around midnight he guessed, not caring enough to look at a clock. He was actually done early tonight, thanks to Elena. She'd looked over both missions there were for that night, and without a word taken the longer one for herself. _That's Elena. Kind, sweet, and caring. And what have I ever done for her? Nothing but make her hate me. _Remembering her words from earlier, he knew it wasn't true. _I care. _

Reno sighed and reached out a long arm to grab the TV remote, before dropping it again. He was too tired to watch anything. _Too tired to go to sleep. _You wouldn't think it was possible, but apparently it was. _I wouldn't blame anyone for hating me. I'm annoying as hell, and a drunk besides. _Here he grimaced at the line of empty beer bottles on the small table next to the couch, all from that night. _I don't _want_ to annoy people. I have to though. Keeps them from getting too close. _Settling back with yet another bottle in his hand, Reno smiled, a shadow of his usual smiles, in satisfaction of the tactic he'd been using for years. _If nobody wants to be around you, nobody goes digging around in your problems. _He was too exhausted of late to put much energy into his act though. It was wearing dangerously thin, and he could tell his co-workers were noticing. He hated bothering everyone, day in and day out, but at least it worked. Nobody got too close. Reno was left alone. _And that's what you want isn't it? _He asked himself. _So why can't you be happy? _

Angry at himself, he tossed the bottle aside, not caring where it fell. Getting up roughly, he walked to his bedroom, stumbling now and again.

"Ow," he mumbled out loud, half-tripping and hitting his head against the doorframe. Grumbling and rubbing his head, Reno rolled into bed hoping to fall asleep soon.

"Thanks," Elena yawned, handing Rude the file with all the paperwork from her mission last night. She'd been up pretty late and only gotten a few hours of sleep. Rude nodded and took the file without looking up. Sitting back at her desk, Elena stole a glance at Reno, searching his face for any signs that he'd gotten more rest last night than lately. Hopefully with the workload split up, he'd get more rest and start feeling better. Sadly, Reno appeared just as tired as ever. The bottle of aspirin was sitting open on his desk too. Concern wrinkled her forehead.

Tseng dropped a pile of files down on Reno's desk wordlessly before turning back into his office. Reno had looked up sharply when the man approached and now glanced over at Elena. He caught her staring, as well as the look of concern.

As their eyes met, Elena saw annoyance flash briefly across his face before being replaced by his teasing grin, although a much more tired version. Scooping the files up, Reno brought them to her desk and dropped them down in front of her for inspection. Rubbing her tired eyes, she flipped the first one open to glance over it's contents.

Reno started tapping his fingers on her desk. She pointedly stared at his hand for a moment. The tapping only increased in volume. _He knows I hate it when he does that. _She pursed her lips and ignored it, moving on to the next file. When she had finished going through the stack, Reno spoke up.

"So 'Laney, what are we going to do today?" he asked, using the taunting tone she hadn't heard in quite some time. The tone alone grated unrelentingly on her nerves, but coupled with the awful nickname and her quick temper, it was too much.

"Do you even know my real name, Reno?" Elena smacked the final file closed and glared up at the redhead, "Do you?"

"It's not 'Laney?" Reno faked surprise. She glared in response.

"So it must be 'Lena," Reno said surely, smiling as if supremely happy with himself.

"No! It's not," Elena's quick temper had flared up into a raging fire almost instantly as usual. Reno shrugged, with a wink, and started back to his desk.

"It's -" she was cut off by Reno, who had turned with lightening speed and was suddenly quite close to her face, his sparkling aqua eyes locked with her brown ones, just inches away.

"Elena," he whispered very softly. Neither moved for a minute, their eyes remaining locked until Reno moved away, just as swiftly as he'd come. Elena's eyes felt like saucers and she was sure she had turned completely red. Part of her clung to the memory of him so close to her, and another part of her was angry with him for messing with her. The result of these mixed emotions was a red-faced girl bent fiercely over a sheet of upside-down paperwork. Bent over her 'work' as she was, Elena missed the knowing smile on Rude's face.

_Ought to keep her angry enough with me to keep her out of my problems. _He thought she would have been able to see through the forced cheeriness. _Guess she was too distracted. _Reno grinned humorlessly to himself. His thoughts strayed back to her, all of her, so close to him. _You don't deserve her._ He jerked himself back to reality with a frown. Grabbing the file on top of the stack, he got up and left without even a glance at Elena. _She probably doesn't want to come now anyway. _

Once he was outside the building, Reno leaned against the wall and opened the file to see just what he was supposed to be doing. While he was reading it, a hand appeared suddenly over the top edge of the papers, pulling the file down and out of the way of his line of vision. Elena stood in front of him, looking up at him seriously.

"You forgot something," she said solemnly.

"What?" he replied, not able to look her in the eye for some reason.

"Me," she said, taking complete control of the situation, "We're going this way."

_How does Reno do this every day? _Elena dragged herself from bed with a groan two days later. She hadn't even been doing this for a week yet and the work was shared. Reno had been at it for, how long now? Two weeks? Three? More? She didn't even know anymore. _I hoped the help would let him get more rest. Maybe if he had more rest he'd get…better? _It occurred to her she didn't even know what was wrong with him, if anything. _Rest. Is that the only thing wrong with him? _All Elena knew was that Reno had been acting strange, not himself. _Or maybe…he _is _acting himself. _Those odd instances came back to her quickly. The few times she'd seen Reno when he was supposedly alone. At those times he'd seemed a lot like he was now. She couldn't quiet place it. _Weary, sad, tired, lonely, depressed, _she mentally ran through a list of words hoping to find one that summed it up. _Maybe it's not just one…_ Elena pondered this for a moment, before shaking her head and shoving it all aside. _This is too confusing. I'm probably thinking too much into it. _That's what she told herself, but she didn't believe it.

"Where is Reno?" Tseng asked, standing in the doorway of his office and looking at the clock. The redhead was at least forty minutes late.

"Hopefully at home asleep," Rude replied without looking up, surprising everyone.

"What does he think he's doing?" Tseng demanded, "There's work to be done."

"Well," Rude glanced at his watch, "I dragged him out of a bar about three hours ago. He didn't recognize me, didn't realize what was happening, didn't care. He's not fit to work right now."

"Hmm, that's his problem. He should know better than to let his personal life interfere with his work," Tseng opened his phone and started dialing a number, presumably to call Reno into work. Rude turned his chair to face Tseng, looking up at the man with a dangerously expressionless face.

"I said he's not able to come into work now." The two men stared at each other for a few tense moments. Elena could practically see sparks. Finally Tseng snapped his phone closed and went into his office. Rude turned back to his work without any reaction.

"How's Reno?" she whispered, not even bothering with how, or why Rude found him.

"A bit ill," Rude replied, as close to sarcasm as he went.

_Idiot. _Reno berated himself, laying limply on his bed, his eyes squeezed shut. The little light there was felt like it was blinding him, and his headache was so bad he thought his head was going to burst. He'd already barfed his guts up, but he still felt sickeningly nauseous. _Too stupid to not get drunk. Can't help it really. _He knew he was addicted. He'd known it for quite some time. It was getting worse, he could tell. He didn't care. He hated, dreaded these damned hangovers, but that didn't stop him from getting very drunk almost every night. _Poor 'Laney. _She was working hard in an attempt to help him. She'd volunteered to do all the missions for last night in a last ditch effort to let him rest. He almost smiled, realizing that she thought the only thing wrong with him was exhaustion. _She doesn't realize what a screw-up I am. _Instead of going home and getting a good night's sleep - shit, he hadn't had one of those in a long time - Reno had gone bar-hopping. That was as far as he remembered.

His phone rang twice and then stopped. Dragging his eyes open with a wince at the light, he checked to see who had called. _Tseng._ With a sigh he decided to go into work. He felt heinously awful, but he felt bad leaving all the work to Elena. Pulling himself to his feet with a groan, he headed off to the Shinra building.

"Reno, could you try to sometimes not be a complete failure?!" Tseng slammed the file down on his desk. The man Reno had been following had on his person information stolen from Shinra. Reno had done a shoddy job of stalking him, and the man had eventually gotten away entirely.

"Sorry," Reno muttered, staring blankly at the corner.

"Just get out," Tseng pointed to his office door, rubbing his temples and sighing heavily, "I'm going to have to fix this myself." Reno turned and emotionlessly walked out of the room, going to sit at his desk. _Failure._ He wasn't angry with Tseng for yelling at him, or for what the man had said. Honestly, he agreed. _I'd probably yell at me too. Failure. _The single word rang in his head.

Suddenly slamming his hands down on his desk as he got up, Reno headed out of the room, not meeting the gaze of his fellow employees who watched him go with surprise. "I need a drink," he was heard to mumble. Elena looked to Rude with worry etched into her forehead.

_Author's Note: Try and remember what's going on at the end of this chapter. It's not really an ideal place for me to stop, but I couldn't keep writing tonight, and it's the best place to stop that I can foresee for quite some time so...just try to remember it. =) If you want to, re-read this last part before reading the next chapter I post. *suggestion* xD Alright, I'm gonna run now, hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Please review and let me know what you guys think! Your opinions are dear to me. xD_


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: That was fast. =) lol. I wrote this all TONIGHT! xD Anyway...remember what just happened before reading this...also, I stumbled across the best song for this EVER on accident. Title: You Artist: Evenesance If you have this LISTEN TO IT REPEATEDLY WHILE YOU READ THIS CHAPTER!! If you don't have it...check youtube? xD It may not fit from your point of view, but I loved it. xD The combination was fantastical. Anywho, please enjoy this update. =) Read, review, repeat._

Elena sat at her desk two hours later, tapping her pen on the desk and staring at the clock intently. Rude actually attempted to look like he was doing something, shuffling papers around, continuously picking files up and putting them back down in the same spot. He glanced up at the clock every couple of seconds. The hands seemed to drag at a sluggish pace. In spite of this, the clock did reach the awaited hour. The very second they were able to leave, both Turks jumped out of their chairs, the synchronized motion drawing their attention to each other. It was clear they were both experiencing the same concern.

"We're leaving, Tseng," Elena called, grabbing her purse and clicking her computer off.

"Reno, there will be no missions for you tonight. I can't risk any more screw-ups today," Tseng replied.

"Reno's not here," Elena stopped in her brisk walk towards the door and looked in the direction of Tseng's office with annoyance.

"Oh. I didn't even notice. How funny," Tseng actually sounded mildly amused. Elena rolled her eyes and followed Rude as they both hurried out the door.

"So how do we find him?" she asked of her partner as they rode down the elevator which wasn't going fast enough for either of them.

"We look in every bar in Midgar," Rude replied, slipping through the shiny silver doors almost before they opened, turning to look at her, "And we pray."

_Please let us find you, Reno. _Elena thought desperately. She didn't even want to think about what might happen to him. _Life without Reno…_ she shuddered at the thought.

Reno's anxious friends searched swiftly through many a crowded bar, desperate for a glimpse of the dark-colored suit, a flash of blood-red hair, anything that might signal Reno was near by.

"How many bars are there in this cursed city anyway?" Elena asked wearily as they trudged through another sector of slums.

"Too many," Rude muttered in reply. They turned to go into yet another trashy bar when a commotion across the street caused them to pause and look.

"I said you've had enough," a man, presumably the barkeeper, said, shoving another man out the door, "More than enough. Get a life." The barkeeper returned to his building, ignoring the incoherent curses being shouted after him by the stumbling drunk with a head full of fiery red hair. The sight flooded Elena with relief.

"Reno!" she yelled in surprise, dashing across the street in an instant followed closely by Rude. He didn't appear to have heard Elena's shout. Staggering aimlessly for a second, Reno swayed and fell heavily against the brick wall of the bar he'd just been kicked out of. He was slumped on the ground when Elena and Rude reached him.

"Reno," Elena said again, excited to have found him finally. The redhead didn't respond.

"Damn. He must have drunk a lot. Even for him. He's blacked out," Rude sighed, struggling to keep Reno from collapsing completely on the ground.

"Blacked out?"

"Someone can consume enough alcohol to send them into a coma," Rude explained, than quickly clarified seeing the alarmed look on Elena's face, "Reno's not in a coma. He probably would have been by morning if we hadn't gotten to him."

"But the barkeeper threw him out," Elena pointed out. Rude just looked at her like she was stupid.

"And what's to stop him from walking into another bar. There's no telling how many he's been in tonight."

Elena looked back at Reno, the frown on her forehead deepening, "Why does he do this?" The full amount of confusion and worry she constantly experienced on his behalf was expressed in her voice and on her face. She was just beginning to realize how serious this was. It scared her deeply. The thought of something happening to the redhead sent shivers down her spine and made her heart ache just thinking about it.

"Reno hates himself," Rude said simply, revealing facts he'd discovered through careful observation, the way only Rude could, "So he abuses himself. Makes him 'feel better'".

Elena didn't look at Rude, just gazed at the pale, gaunt face of the man they talked about. She didn't say anything for a minute. This new information made perfect sense. The knowledge enabled her to finally understand.

"That's selfish," she finally said, a slight anger in her voice, "You're killing yourself slowly because you can't deal with your life, and your experiences." Her comments were directed to Reno, even though she knew he was blacked out. Rude was noticing slight movements though which made him wonder just how deep under Reno was. Elena's voice was getting more and more agitated, "We care about you. You don't ever think about us, do you? You only think about your feelings, and how you feel. What about how we feel about you?" Elena was too worked up to notice the small things Rude noticed. Reno was hearing her. Rude could tell by the way the man's head was turned toward the girl, also the expression on his face. His eyelids flickered slightly, all the while Elena continued on her rant, oblivious, "How do you think we would feel if you killed yourself? Pretty damn awful, huh." Here her tone changed, becoming softer, more pleading, the hurt she felt showing through, "We're your friends, Reno. Friends help each other with our problems, but how are we supposed to help you if you won't let us near you?"

Reno opened his sparkling aquamarine eyes and looked up at Elena with a pained and mournful expression on his face. A tear slid gently down his cheek. Keeping her gaze fixed on his face, Elena continued, much softer now, "We care about you, Reno. _I_ care about you. A lot. I think…I think I love you," her eyes had flicked away from his for a second, but returned almost instantly. Rude was smiling to himself, getting up quietly without drawing attention to himself and moving away a few paces. There was a moment of silence before Elena carried on, "I always thought I didn't like you. Sometimes you annoy the crap out of me," she smiled, "But I never realized my own feelings until now. Until I understood that I… could lose you."

"You do care," Reno whispered, his voice slurred and choked, "I thought you did. Why else would you have helped me? But I couldn't believe it before. 'Lena, I'm sorry. You were trying to help and I-" his voice was getting agitated quickly, before Elena cut him off.

"It's fine, it's all fine now."

"Take me home, Elena," Reno was barely able to mumble, the alcohol in his system making everything fuzzy and fogging his mind. His eyes closed and he laid his head back.

They managed to bring Reno home although the redhead had blacked out again. He was sleeping now. Elena stood looking down at Reno as he lay in bed, covered carefully with blankets.

"Do you think he'll be ok?" she said softly to Rude.

"I think he will," Rude said seriously, nodding, "I'm leaving." He dropped Reno's apartment key in her hand and left suddenly.

Prompted by an urge, Elena slipped her shoes off and curled up next to Reno, on top of the blankets. She closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. She loved being close to him. The slow, even breaths were soothing, helping calm her nerves which had been frazzled severely over the past couple of days. Reno shifted in his sleep, causing his warm breaths to brush over her neck. Elena's spine tingled, and she shivered for a very different reason than fear of losing someone. Turning her head, she kissed his cheek before sliding a little lower so her head was against his chest.

Elena hadn't meant to fall asleep there, but the atmosphere was so comfortable, so warm and natural-feeling. Before long she was sleeping just as deeply as the redhead next to her.

_Author's Note: In case there is confusion....THIS IS NOT THE END!!! There is more. xD After all, we haven't wrapped up our loose ends! And addictions don't fix that quickly. =) So anyhow...if you enjoyed this chapter even the tiniest little bit...drop me a line. xD REVIEWS! lol sorry I'm really sort of delirious....it's like 1:30 in the morning...I've been up since like 6 am......ran around at work for five hours at some point today too...so yeah...I'm going to sleep now. xD LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Ok, finally another update! I had at least two days of writer's block so please forgive me. =) I think I'm good now though. See, I'm a REALLY musical person. Music is like my thing...so recently I lost my entire music collection off my computer. T_T So I had to copy all the files from my sister (our collections are identical) and it's taking me forever to organize it. In the meantime, I can't find any of my usual music, and it's really been affecting my writing. Towards the end of this update, I managed to find a good playlist, so it may be better. Basically, forgive the majority of this chapter. xD I hope you enjoy it anyway!!!! As you can see, we're definately not over yet!! Thanks so much for reading guys and remember to review! =) _

Reno woke up the next morning, awareness of his surroundings coming to him slowly. First came the usual headache and other results of a hard night of drinking. He groaned and attempted to roll over, in the process feeling something in his way. A few moments of confusion passed before it occurred to him to open his eyes. His sleep-clouded eyes blinked a few times before recognizing the object next to him as a person. _Elena?_ This woke him up, and his mind started racing, wondering what had happened. The events of the previous night came back to him suddenly, pieces fuddled by the effects of alcohol.

"Thank you," Reno whispered so quietly it was barely audible. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, bending his head to kiss her ear. The touch disrupted Elena's sleep and she mumbled, turning her head so her nose was pressed against his chest.

Flickering her eyes opened, Elena stared for just a moment before everything registered.

"Reno!" she yelped, hopping up in an instant and trying to straighten her hair and clothes, "I'm so sorry, I guess I fell asleep. I didn't mean to."

"I don't mind," Reno grinned at her. That charming smile she'd missed for so long worked wonders. She calmed down at once.

"Of course you don't," she smiled back, "You're Reno." He stuck his tongue out at her before grimacing and shoving his head in the pillow with a groan.

"Don't feel good," he complained.

"I should say so," Elena commented, "You were certainly drunk enough." The disapproval in her voice was evident, but Reno didn't bother addressing it. His attention was occupied by the throbbing headache he had.

"I'm going to go into work, ok? You wait until you feel better," Elena said, spontaneously leaning over to smooth his hair and kiss the back of his neck before leaving.

Elena came into work just in time to see Tseng dropping the usual stack of files on Reno's desk. Throwing her purse into her chair, she picked them back up and headed after Tseng into his office.

"You're stopping this now," she smacked the files down on Tseng's desk, "I don't care if he floods your office with fruit punch, you are not going to continue abusing him like this."

"I really don't understand, Elena," Tseng said with a fake politeness, "You were most eager, and constantly begged me to do something about Reno's absurd behavior, but as soon as progress starts being made, you get upset."

"Yeah, he's not pulling pranks anymore, but look at everything else! You're driving him into the dirt. He's exhausted beyond belief. I have no idea how he's managed to keep going this long. I would have collapsed long ago." Tseng opened his mouth to argue further before Elena cut him off, "Promise me you'll stop right now, or I'm walking out of this office and straight to Rufus." There was a dangerous glint in her eyes which Tseng must have noted, for he said nothing. His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed but eventually he spoke.

"Fine," he said quietly, "You win." Elena left the man's office with a triumphant smile, but also with relief inside. Reno really was going to be ok. _If he'll get the rest he needs. _Something in the back of her mind bothered her though. She knew Reno had an alcohol addiction, but she wasn't sure how bad it was. _Maybe it will be ok now too. _She thought optimistically, but she really knew this one was going to take some work.

Elena settled down at her desk and dialed Reno's number.

"Hey," he answered, his voice hoarse and tired.

"Hey, you can stay home and rest today ok?"

"But the missions…" he protested.

"I discussed it with Tseng, and that's not a problem anymore," Elena replied proudly.

"Awesome," Reno sounded honestly relieved and she heard him sigh, not one of the heavy sighs she usually heard, but more like the letting out of held breath, "You're awesome."

"Thanks. Anyway, stay in bed, get some sleep, and for goodness sake don't drink anything," she said the last bit very firmly.

"Yeah, no problem. Love you, 'Laney," Reno hung up. Elena sat still for a moment before flipping her own phone closed. _Love you, 'Laney. _It surprised her, just because it had been thrown in there so suddenly. She bit her lip to keep from grinning hugely. _He never said it before. Reno loves me. _She almost giggled she was so delighted with this thought. Repeating it to herself, Elena give her chair a quick little spin before turning some much-needed attention to the paperwork in front of her.

Reno dropped his phone on the table next to his bed with a yawn before slipping back under the covers. Pulling them up to his ears he moaned. He was cold and his head hurt. He was so completely exhausted it didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

Elena finished yet another file of paperwork. After being on missions with Reno all day every day, sitting in the office doing paperwork was insanely boring. Especially in a Reno-less office. She glanced at her phone, but decided not to call him. _He's probably asleep. Don't want to disturb him. _She was able to concentrate entirely on her work for the first time in what seemed like forever. Elena knew he was at home, in bed, resting. She didn't have to worry about him getting hurt on a mission, or collapsing from exhaustion.

'_Don't drink anything.' 'Yeah, no problem.' _He laughed mirthlessly to himself. _No problem. That's a joke. _Reno sat on the kitchen counter next to the fridge, feet kicked up on the back of a chair. He had slept for hardly an hour and was now staring at one of the many empty bottles littering his whole apartment, trying to ignore the fact that there were any number of alcoholic beverages almost everywhere you looked in the messy kitchen. When he'd told Elena it wouldn't be a problem, he'd believed it. _Why do I have to have it?_ It frustrated him. He tried so hard sometimes, but he never won. He couldn't ever resist it. It was just easier to give in. He knew how disappointed Elena would be if she found out he'd been drinking again. _She doesn't understand. _He argued with himself. _If she only knew how hard it was she wouldn't be upset. _The pathetic excuse that even he could see through at once was, sadly, enough for the redhead to surrender to the addiction that gripped him. _It's just one beer. _Reno was already making excuses and apologies in his head as he leaned over and grabbed one of the many bottles from the fridge. The guilt was overwhelming and the familiar feeling of defeat welled up inside him. The redhead sat slouched in his kitchen all alone drinking his beer, and then, too ensnared to stop, another and another…

After quickly finishing up her last file, Elena grabbed her purse and phone and hurried out the door waving to Rude, who nodded in return. Dialing the number in the elevator, she called Reno.

"Yeah?" Reno's voice was slightly slurred and tired.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her excitement at finally getting done with work dampened as she started to suspect.

"Uh…" Reno paused, "Not that good."

"I was going to come see you, but if you're still feeling bad I can go home instead," Elena had really wanted to make sure he ate something. She couldn't ever remember seeing Reno eat, and he was so skinny she couldn't imagine he ate much.

"No, come over. I want to see you," Reno stumbled through the words.

"Alright I'll be there soon."

"Bye."

_He's been drinking again. _Elena was disappointed in him, but touched by the sincerity with which he'd said he wanted to see her. _'No problem' he said. _She didn't believe he'd lie to her. _He must really not be able to resist it. _She was swiftly learning just how bad Reno's drinking problem was.

"Hey," Reno grinned at Elena when he let her in. He looked even skinnier than usual in jeans and a T-shirt.

"Hey," Elena returned the smile, and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his chest. It felt so good to be close to him, feeling the muscles in his back under her hands and hearing his heart beat in her ear. Reno seemed slightly surprised by the affection, and took an instinctive tiny step back, but quickly recovered and put his arms around her waist.

"Aw, did ya miss me, 'Laney?" he asked teasingly, pushing the door closed with one hand.

"Maybe," she said slyly, pulling away and heading towards his kitchen, "Have you eaten anything? If you're hungry I can make you something."

"Uh," Reno thought back over the day trying to come up with an answer, "No, I don't think I've eaten anything. I'm not really hungry though. If you want something help yourself." He followed her, lazily dragging his feet.

"I ate at work actually, but you have to be hungry if you haven't eaten anything," she glanced back at him with a small frown, noticing more distinctly how thin he really was. When hugging him earlier, she could have sworn she felt his ribs easily. She'd also noticed he smelled like alcohol. "Wow, not one for cleaning much huh?" Elena surveyed the kitchen with raised eyebrows. The place wasn't necessarily dirty, just littered with stuff.

"Yeah," Reno scratched the back of his head, standing behind her and wincing at the mess, "It's not really the first thing I think about doing when I get home from work. Also I haven't had a lot of extra time lately…" he let his voice trail off.

"Right, I didn't think about that," Elena rubbed her hands together with purpose and stepped next to the table, gathering the many empty bottles together in one place, looking up at Reno with gentle disapproval with each addition to the quickly growing collection. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his shuffling feet, glancing back at the blonde girl every now and then, guilt clearly showing in his aqua eyes. "Trash can?" was the only thing Elena said. Reno pointed and Elena soon found the desired item, as well as additional garbage bags which were put to noble use over the next half hour.

Elena soon had the kitchen in order. She didn't let Reno just stand there, either. He was put to work washing and putting away the random dishes scattered around.

"There," she said happily, standing with hands on her hips admiring her work, "Much nicer don't you think?"

"Yeah, you wanna clean some more rooms?" the redhead grinned, leaning against the counter, slightly dazed by alcohol and tiredness.

"Oh, so what am I your maid now?" she teased.

"Hey, we could get you a cute little outfit," Reno's smile grew and his the old mischievous sparkle Elena knew so well had returned to his eyes.

"Shut up," she smacked his chest playfully while walking towards the fridge, "You're going to eat something now. I don't care how not-hungry you are, people have to eat food." Reno made a face and squinted his eyes shut, turning his head away slightly as she opened the fridge, dreading her reaction. Sure enough there was silence for a moment once the door was open. It wasn't _full_ of beer, probably not even half-way, but there was still quite a bit more than there should be.

"Reno, do you keep anything like real food in this place?" she finally questioned, the clinking of glass telling him she was poking around.

"Uh," Reno came up behind her to look over her shoulder, surprised to find that he didn't know the contents of his own fridge. Except for the beer of course. He always knew that was there. He always made sure it was there.

"Eggs!" Elena exclaimed, pulling out the package and checking the date, "And they're not expired! How do you feel about eggs?" She closed the fridge and started checking the cabinets for a pan of sorts.

"Fine with me," Reno shrugged, "I don't care."

"Well, what _do_ you care about, Reno?" Elena questioned absentmindedly while flipping through cabinets.

"You," he replied honestly, looking over at her just in time to see her shoulders sag and her head drop for a moment. He bit his lip when he saw what cabinet she had just looked in. Any and every kind of hard liquor decorated the shelves, none of the bottles the slightest bit full.

"That's sweet," she said, turning to smile at him as she carefully closed the cabinet doors. He could tell she was upset and trying to hide it. _It hurts her. _He knew and it made him feel incredibly awful. Guilt dragging him down, Reno opened the correct cabinet and handed her a pan.

"Thank you," Elena said quietly. She had him some eggs cooked up in no time. He didn't really want them, but he ate to make her happy.

They sat on the couch now, Elena leaning against him with his arm around her. Some random show was on, but neither was really paying any attention to it. They were simply enjoying being together. Not much was said, but Reno was tired anyway and Elena was becoming rather sleepy herself. Reno was desperately trying to ignore the need he was feeling for a drink, even though he was still experiencing the effects of the drinking he'd done not that long ago. Beer, vodka, tequila, it didn't matter what, just something with that cursed substance he craved. Elena's voice interrupted his mental struggle.

"I'm going to go now," she yawned and stretched, "Getting tired."

"Ok," Reno walked with her to the door, reaching out and grabbing her wrist when she got there, turning her to face him and pushed her gently against the wall in one smooth motion. Elena's breath caught in her throat as his body pressed against hers, and his hands tilted her head up and he bent slightly down to brush his lips on hers. Sliding his hands down her body until they rested on her hips, Reno kissed her slowly and softly. Tingling from every touch, Elena's hands found their way around his neck and stayed there, as if to keep him from pulling away. Kissing her more passionately for a moment, Reno broke off and put his face next to hers, and whispered in her ear.

"Don't go."

Although every nerve in Elena's body sparked violently at those words, she shook her head, knowing he could feel the movement. "You're drunk," she said, not accusingly, but not gently. He hadn't drunk anything while she was there, but he must have earlier. She had known he was intoxicated from the moment she had heard his voice on the phone earlier. She could taste it on his mouth. Kissing his cheek, Elena slipped out of his arms and left.

_You_ _shouldn't have done that, _Reno told him self, turning his back to the wall and leaning against it himself. With a sigh, he sunk to the floor. _She's gonna think I don't really care about her. I love you, Elena. _Like she could hear him now. Why'd he have to go being such a damned idiot all the time? _Vodka._ The image sprung unbidden to his mind, and he hung his head, getting up with muttered curses. He didn't even bother to resist the temptation. It was like a command you couldn't deny. Refusing was useless, defeat inevitable.

He hated the bottle he held in his hand, pouring a shot of the clear liquid. He couldn't manage to separate it from his life though. Reno sat by himself long into the night, toying with the small glass in his fingers between shots. Dark thoughts filled his brooding mind, eventually blocked out by the blanket of alcohol that smothered him.

_Author's Note: I love to write. I just really do. So yeah. =) Leave me a note with your thoughts, feelings, anything random that happened to you today, a random word you felt like saying, just whatever. xD Love you guys!! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I enjoyed writing it. =) _


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: Ok, much shorter chapter this time. I really don't like this one very much, but whatever. Not all chapters can be epic. Than the epic chapters would no longer be epic. So whatever...um....I don't have much to say for once. =P So just read, review, repeat!! Enjoy!_

Reno came into work the next day, with a hangover, which didn't surprise any of them in the slightest. However, he somehow managed to come up with his teasing grin.

"Hey, Tseng," Reno said with exaggerated cheer as he kicked his feet up and settled back in his chair. The man flashed him an annoyed look.

"Don't even think about trying anything," the Turk leader dropped a file on Reno's desk, "Paperwork," he said in answer to the raised eyebrow Elena gave him. Tseng retreated to his office, obviously feeling the ill-will. Reno dropped his feet to the floor, and took a look at the file in front of him. Sighing and rubbing his temples, he clicked a pen open and went to work for once.

"You know," Elena rolled her chair around to face him, "You'd feel a lot better every morning if you didn't drink so much." Reno looked up and blinked.

"I know," he said.

"So…" Elena looked expectantly at him and paused as if he was supposed to fill in the blank. He didn't say anything. "Why don't you stop drinking then?" She said brightly, with the tone of one who points out something blatantly obvious to a child.

"Cause," Reno quickly went from neutral to frustrated, as he struggled for an answer, "Cause…"

"Cause…what?" Elena prompted.

"Cause I can't," the redhead said harshly.

"Can't? Or won't?"

"I just can't!" When Elena obstinately opened her mouth to argue further, Reno snapped, "You don't get it, ok? Leave it alone." He turned on his work angrily.

Elena twisted her chair back around without a word, a bit hurt, while Reno hunched over his desk. Rude continued working as he had been doing through the whole conversation, as if nothing had happened. Almost fifteen minutes of absolute silence followed.

"I'm sorry, 'Laney," Reno said quietly, not looking up from the paper in front of him.

"It's ok. It was my fault anyway," Elena glanced over at the man, her slight frown of concern worn more and more frequently when thinking about him.

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"How about I handle dinner this time?" Reno said, kicking the door closed behind him. It had become habit for the two of them to go to his apartment after work. Elena made sure he got at least one decent meal a day, and that he didn't just sit down with a drink at once. She knew he drank as soon as she left, but it was the best she could do. She kept reminding him that she knew, and disapproved but it did nothing but frustrate him. She was beginning to get rather frustrated herself. No matter how much she told him he should quit drinking as heavily as he did, he just wouldn't stop.

"Getting sick of my cooking?" she teased, tossing her purse onto a table near the door.

"Yeah, I'm going to be physically ill if I have to put up with it for even one more night," Reno replied, grinning. Elena spit her tongue out at him and sat on the arm of the couch and crossed her arms. Reno kept talking as he headed towards the kitchen, "Honestly, it's my turn. You've been at it for…" he counted on his fingers quickly, "Like a week now."

"Well, let's see what you can do," she challenged. He grinned and disappeared into the kitchen. Elena slipped onto the couch and turned on the TV, listening carefully for any sounds from the kitchen that could tell her what progress was being made. There was hardly any noise at all, and soon Reno returned with a satisfied smile. Hopping over the back of the couch and landing beside her, he put an arm around her as if it were only natural.

"Give it thirty minutes tops," he said, with a smirk only he knew the meaning of, "So what are we watching?" He turned his attention to the TV.

"Uh…" Elena looked at it for the first time herself, having been previously occupied with attempting to decipher his actions in the kitchen, "It's…"

"You have no idea. Admit it, you were trying to spy on me," he accused with mock anger and shock.

"Turk instinct, baby," Elena offered her excuse with a sly smile.

"Uh huh," he crossed his arms and shook his head, "Try more like just plain nosy!"

"Hey!" she playfully punched him, but his hand shot up in the blink of an eye and caught her punch, leaving her staring, surprised.

"Turk instinct, baby," his aqua eyes sparkled as he used her own words. Staring into those beautiful eyes, Elena experienced one of those amazing moments when she just knew. She knew she loved him more than anything, she knew he loved her, she knew she had to be with him.

"Come here, Reno," she said, even though he was already right next to her, placing her hands on his cheeks and pressing her lips to his. Her fingers stroked the red tattoos on his face as she kissed him deeply. There was something else she knew with certainty. She knew he had to stop drinking like he did.

"You have to quit drinking, Reno," she pulled away suddenly, speaking the words that had popped into her head. The beautiful aqua eyes looked at her, no longer sparklingly clear, but clouded with a struggle.

"Elena," Reno began in a strained voice, but she cut him off.

"Don't tell me I don't understand," she was upset, "You always tell me I don't get it. You are an alcoholic, you drink too much, too often. You need to stop, but you won't! That's all there is to it. Am I right?"

"Yes, but no," Reno looked desperate, "That's it, but…it's hard. You can't understand…" he ended, aware of how lame an answer it sounded. It was the truth though, it was all he could tell her. They'd had the same argument on countless occasions by now. It was brought up one way or another at least once a day and both were losing patience with each other. Elena didn't know why he wouldn't stop, and Reno didn't know how to explain to her that it wasn't like a light switch. He couldn't just turn it off and stop like that. How do you describe such a compulsive need for a certain thing? He couldn't get away from it. He'd tried to stop, more and more frequently of late, but it never worked. The moment he started telling himself no, excuses and arguments flooded his head. _It's not hurting anyone…_ He knew that one was wrong though. It damaged his health. It hurt Elena. _It doesn't hurt her that badly. She's still here isn't she? _The arguments were endless and increasingly varied. He would argue with himself as long as he could, but always gave in eventually. He couldn't escape it.

Elena didn't get a chance to reply because the door bell interrupted. She frowned and looked towards the door.

"Who's that?"

"I've got it," Reno got up, and answered the door, pulling some cash out of his pocket and trading it for the box the pizza guy had in his hand. Returning to the couch, Reno unceremoniously placed the box on the table. "Dinner," he said, lamely.

"Is this what you normally eat?" Elena asked, the atmosphere slightly awkward as it always was after one of their heated 'discussions'.

"Yeah," Reno shrugged, "When I feel like eating."

"You need a woman," Elena almost laughed.

_I need you, _he yelled inside, but all he said was, "There's nothing wrong with pizza."

"No, not really," she replied. They sat in silence for a moment, "I'm going to go now. I'm not very hungry."

"Me neither," the redhead muttered. She kissed his lips softly before getting up and going home.

Reno sighed as he sat by himself in the kitchen. He'd thrown the untouched pizza in the fridge and, skipping the mental arguments altogether, sat down with a drink. Not an evening passed without Elena trying to convince him to stop. _As if I need convincing. _He would if he could, but he couldn't, so he didn't even try anymore. Reno had given up. They must have gone through the same words at least a hundred times. It was almost scripted. They were going in circles though. Nothing changed except tempers grew shorter and patience wore thinner.

He felt very alone. Having gotten used to Elena being around in the evenings, when she went he felt the loneliness much more acutely. It was so quiet, it felt like his thoughts were screaming at him. It quickly became too much, and, on impulse, Reno hopped up, grabbed his coat, and went to spend his time drinking in a bar instead of at home.

_Author's Note: Hm, I just discoverd something. Normally, when there is a change of scene or whatever you want to call it, I do a longer amount of space between the paragraphs. I just disocvered that when I upload a chapter, it doesn't include those extra spaces....I hope that hasn't confused anyone. I will start entering lines where the breaks are now. Sorry for any confusion! Also please note that the contents of this chapter occur several days after last chapter. Thank you!_


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: Hey guys! Quick update, don't expect it to be like this all the time. =P This is just a scene I've had planned for quite some time so I knew how it was going to happen. xD So I have something very random to say...please forgive me. =) I hate mint toothpaste so much....it's AWFUL!!! I don't mind mint in general...but mint toothpaste is so nasty I can hardly stand it. Ugh. Anyway. Sorry. Enjoy the chapter! Read, review, repeat!!!_

"Dammit," Reno stood in his kitchen, having just returned from the bar he'd been at the past few hours. He has shed his jacket, dropping it on the floor. Grabbing some towels with hands that shook, he felt the warm blood ooze down his chest. He pressed one of the towels to his shoulder, very close to his neck, with a hiss of pain. "Damn that asshole," he said through clenched teeth. He wouldn't have picked a fight if he knew the guy had a knife. _Idiot, you would have anyway. _He was regretting it now. He knew better than to go out drinking when he was already in a bad mood. Bad things usually happened. Like bar fights. _Then again, you do a lot of things even though you know better._ Before it had been broken up, Reno had broken the other guy's nose. _Only because he tried to slit my throat. _Reno attempted to come up with an excuse for himself. Not that he cared very much. He pulled the now soaked towel away from the cut and threw it into the sink, grabbing a clean towel and trying to wipe away the blood. No matter how many towels he soaked, he couldn't seem to even slow the flow of blood. With a frustrated grunt, Reno threw down another towel as well. He couldn't even get a proper look at the wound because of where it was. Twisting his head around to see it just made it hurt more. It was bleeding profusely and pained him very much. Holding his hand over it and feeling the blood seep through his fingers, Reno went to look in a mirror.

"Bloody hell," he groaned and returned to the kitchen, collapsing heavily in a chair. _What am I supposed to do now? _He was too drunk to walk straight, he had a bad cut he couldn't even see with out a mirror, and couldn't stop the bleeding. Reno pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. _1 A.M. Not too bad. _

Realizing there was nothing else he could do, he dialed Elena's number, leaned his head on his arm, and waited.

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"Hello?" Elena's phone had woken her up and she struggled to get her arms out from under the covers to answer it sleepily.

"Hey, 'Laney, it's me," Reno's voice came over the device, shaky and slurred.

"Reno?" she looked at the clock, "It's after midnight. What do you want?" she asked grumpily, wondering what drunken idea had taken hold of him and made him call her this late.

"I've, uh, got a bit of a problem."

"Yeah, I know," Elena interjected, sarcastically, falling back into her pillows and closing her eyes.

"No, it's not what you think. I'm bleeding. Badly. I…I can't fix it myself. Could you come help?" his voice wavered. Elena was paying attention now, propping herself up on an elbow.

"Bleeding? What happened? I didn't think you had any missions tonight?"

"I…could I just tell you when you get here?"

"Yeah, sure, I'm sorry. Listen, I'll be there in a minute. You'll be fine." She said this almost more to reassure herself than him.

"Ok. Thanks," Reno breathed, hanging up. Tossing her phone down, Elena jumped out of bed, changing from her pajamas into sweats and a t-shirt.

She was at Reno's apartment in no time.

"Hi," he said as he opened the door, leaning against the wall.

"You ok?" she asked grabbing his arm, extremely concerned. He looked paler than usual and he swayed on his feet. "Come sit down," she led him back to the kitchen. The many bloody towels scattered around the room made her stomach clench uncomfortably. "Alright, let's have a look at this," she sat him down, turning all business in an instant and poked at the wound for barely a second through the tear in his shirt, "You're going to have to take this off."

"Pervert," Reno muttered, but started fumbling with the buttons while Elena collected all the clean towels she could find. Slipping his left arm out of the sleeve so she could get to the shoulder, Reno leaned his head on his other arm and groaned.

"Does it hurt badly?" Elena dabbed at the nasty gash gently with a towel, rinsing it out many times in warm water. Reno nodded in reply. "So are you going to tell me how you got this?"

"Bar fight," he said quietly, gritting his teeth through the stinging pain.

"What?!" Elena looked up sharply, but didn't loose a single bit of the gentleness with which she cleaned his wound.

"I went to a bar, and got in a fight," Reno said, slightly annoyed. She knew him. She knew the kind of stuff he did. _Why is she surprised?_ "Guy had a knife. I broke his nose."

Elena didn't say a word, but Reno saw the frown, the pursed lips. He put his hand on his forehead, over his eyes.

"There," she said quietly, moments later, having finished bandaging up the cut, "You should get that seen tomorrow at the latest."

"Thanks. Sorry for waking you up," Reno got up from the table, almost tripping.

"No problem," she muttered. He was surprisingly articulate for being so drunk.

Reno was already more than a little annoyed because he knew what was coming. He was as drunk ever, and just wanted to be left alone. Look at what had happened to the most recent guy to mess with him.

"You really need to stop drinking, Reno," Elena began, crossing her arms and looking at him seriously, leaning against the counter.

"Oh come on, Elena, don't start," he grumbled, pulling his shirt on correctly.

"This isn't a joke! People die from drinking too much, and you are definitely drinking way too much. You're drinking yourself to death, do you know that?" She threw the rest of the dirty towels into the sink angrily.

Reno ignored her, turning away and stumbling off a few paces.

"Listen to me!" she said, exasperation raising her voice as she walked up to him and grabbed his good shoulder to spin him around to face her, "I'm sick of your…your," she stuttered for the right words, "Your complete disregard of what I'm saying to you! You could maybe put _some_ effort into quitting!"

"It's not that simple, Elena!" Reno said, angrily, loudly.

"I don't know if you are honestly trying to kill yourself, or just being stubborn, or what, but-"

"You don't understand!" Reno shouted, all his frustration with his addiction culminating as he raised his hand and slapped Elena across the face. Complete silence and stillness followed.

Elena slowly turned her face up to him, as his eyes went wide with shock and he took an involuntary step back. Her own hand fluttered up to her cheek and rested there, covering the glowing red mark. The shock on the girl's face was quickly joined by pain, not physical but emotional. A tiny twinge of fear was visible for a millisecond, but was quickly gone. Tears welled up, but before they could roll down her face, Elena looked to the ground sharply and turned on her heel, heading for the door, so swiftly she was almost running.

Reno couldn't move, couldn't speak. The door slammed behind Elena. _What did I do? _His shock was almost as great as hers, maybe more. The stinging pain in his shoulder was forgotten as he stared down at his hand. _I…I hit her. _The realization hit him like a wall of steel. The sudden rush of emotion that came with the realization of what he had done knocked him to his knees, as he looked in the direction she had gone. _Why…why did I do that?_ A burning rage grew within him as it clicked. He wasn't thinking straight and he knew it. He was susceptible to sudden mood swings and driven by his emotions too easily. His judgment was impaired. He was drunk. _I would never, ever hurt her. _But he had. Reno's hatred for the substance that screwed with him like this burned more than his cut, and his heart ached for what he had done.

Fists clenched, the redhead rose from his place on the floor and tore open the cabinet, ignoring the scream of pain the movements caused his shoulder. Pulling out bottle after bottle, he emptied one after another down the sink thinking only of how it had made him hurt Elena. All he saw was the red mark on her face, her tears, the tiny flash of fear.

"Shit!" he yelled, his shaking hands accidentally letting one of the glass bottles slip from his long fingers and shatter on the floor. Turning his back to the counter, he slid to the floor, his head falling into his hands. Tears found their way down his face, as he got up moments later, turning his attention to the fridge. With much less ferocious anger, Reno opened it and removed all the bottles, dumping their contents down the drain as well. Staring with grim sadness at the vast array of emptied bottles now covering his counter, he walked backwards, eventually knocking himself over into a chair.

"Moron, what did you do?" he groaned to himself, his forehead resting on the edge of the table. He felt so tired, the rush of energy gone now. Shame and a throbbing, aching pain that had nothing to do with his wound, filled every inch of him. Quivering fingers drew his phone from his pocket, but he just stared at it before dropping it in his lap. How could he even speak to her now? _You have to try. She has to know. Know you didn't mean to hurt her…_ His fingers got as far as entering her number, but he couldn't bring himself to dial.

Reno was torn in two. Torn between needing to explain, telling her it hadn't been supposed to happen, and the fear of screwing it up like the bumbling idiot he was. There were no words, no words that he knew anyway, to express the shame, anger he felt with himself for what he had done to her.

"Come on, Reno, don't be a coward now on top of it all," he muttered to himself, dialing the number and holding the phone to his ear, closing his eyes with a sigh.

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Elena lay curled up in bed in her dark bedroom. Her tears had blinded her on the way home, and now continued to trickle down her face. The slap had stung, physically and emotionally. It still stung emotionally. _Reno hit me. _She couldn't get past it. Her whole body shivered, so she pulled the covers up over her. It didn't help much. No, this was a chill caused by the heart. Her phone rang. Elena didn't even look at it. She knew who it was. She couldn't bring herself to answer it now. What would she say when she didn't even know how she felt?

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"Pick up, Elena," Reno whispered. He was afraid he would loose his nerve if she didn't. She didn't. So he called again. And again. For a half hour he tried with no success, only confirming his terrifying fear that she wouldn't speak to him again. Finally he gave up, and left a message.

"Elena…it's me. I…I don't even know what to say. I am so, so sorry," his heart sank, realizing just how much the words didn't cut it. What else could he say though? "For it all. I hurt you," his voice cracked and dropped to a whisper, "It kills me to even think about it. But…I'm doing it every day. And as things are now, I might do it again any day. I don't ever, ever want to hurt you again, 'Laney," here his voice gathered strength from a determination he'd never had before, "So I'm going to change how things are now. I can't promise that I'll never hurt you again, but I can promise you I will never, never drink so much again that I loose myself enough to hit you. Please, please try to give me another chance. I can't live without you, Elena," he was silent for a moment and then snapped the phone closed, letting it slip through his fingers and clatter on the floor.

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Her phone rang repeatedly for a long time. Elena listened to it, but didn't move. It stopped eventually, leaving her in quiet, but not peace. At some point, she drifted into an uneasy, light sleep.

_Author's Note: So it was really odd when I got to the phone message part...I had completely walked through the entire rest of this whole chapter in my head multiple times, but for some reason I'd never even thought about what he was going to say on the message. o_O So I was typing furiously when suddenly I just stopped. I was like.....what now? xD I whipped something up though, so I hope it was as moving as it was supposed to be...anywho leave a review and let me know what you think!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!_


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's Note: So by the way, I'm using those dotted lines to mark changes in point of view as well as like...time-warps. =) Whatever you want to call it. So I had the first page and a half of this chapter all written out, when I recieved a review from someone with a suggestion...and it was better. =) So I went with it. What I originally wrote is still in there, just like a day later. I think it works better this way. OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH!!! Go read the story called "Lithium" by reno-xxxXXXxxx. It's AMAZING!!! I started reading it a couple days ago and finished it the other night. =) I'm off to read the sequal just as soon as I get this posted. Read, review, repeat!! And that goes for both stories. =) _

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"…_I can't live without you, Elena."_ Elena softly closed her phone and set it down on the pillow next to her head. She'd woken up late, and instead of freaking out and jumping up to get ready as fast as she could like she normally would have done, she had stared at the phone on the table next to the clock. Now, after working up the courage to listen to the message, she didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she wanted to see Reno or not, what she would say if she did see him, or even how she felt. Squeezing her eyes shut and groaning in frustration, Elena grabbed her phone again and dialed a number.

"Tseng?" she asked, surprised to hear how bad her voice sounded. Tired, hoarse, and ill.

"Yes? What's the matter, Elena?" the man replied over the phone.

"I'm not coming to work today," she said, wondering if she should be regretting those words, "I don't feel well." _Hey, it's the truth._

"That's fine. Call me later and let me know how you are feeling. Get some rest."

"Yeah. Bye," Elena sighed and let the phone slip from her fingers to the bed.

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Reno stood outside the Shinra building, at least thirty minutes early. He paced back and forth for awhile, watching every person who came into view carefully. Glancing at the clock on his phone, he sighed. _Elena normally shows up to work soon. _He waited and waited but never saw her. Finally, when it hit his usual twenty minutes late, he took one final look around and went in.

Hands shoved deep in pockets, Reno trudged in, not able to stop himself from looking hopefully at Elena's desk. _Empty._ Forehead lined with worry, he sat down at his own desk, too distracted to reply to Rude's 'good morning'.

Throwing back a few aspirin out of habit, he cursed under his breath at the headache that plagued him as a result of last night's bar-hopping. He rolled the bottle in his fingers, staring at it absentmindedly as he dwelt on his resolution. There was a part of him that was incredibly angry and annoyed with himself for pouring it all down the drain, but the rest of him shushed it. No, he was determined this time. _Of all the awful, scum-baggish things you've done in your life, that has got to be the worst. _He couldn't ever let that happen again. No matter what he had to do.

Smirking, Reno tossed the bottle of aspirin into the trash. _Won't be needing that anymore. _Taking out his phone, Reno dialed Elena's number and stared at it. The redhead looked at her empty desk and snapped the phone shut.

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Rude had noticed something was up since Reno walked into the room. His partner looked awful. Like he hadn't slept all night and had a hangover to boot. Which was exactly the case. The redhead looked at Elena's desk and then sighed and frowned as he kept walking. Elena had called in sick earlier, but Rude hadn't thought anything of it. Now he was wondering is there was something more to that… Reno tossed the white bottle of aspirin that always sat on his desk into the trash. This surprised Rude. Something had definitely happened. Reno never went anywhere in the morning where there wasn't aspirin. Unless… _Unless he wasn't going to need it. _Realizing a small part of what was going on, Rude looked at Elena's empty desk in amazement. _She must've done it. _

Reno's addiction was no secret at work. It hadn't been for quite some time. Elena was the last to pick up on it. Since she had, she'd been a lot braver than any of the rest of them. Any mention of it to Reno had only earned the good-willer a glare that could spook Sephiroth himself. So no one mentioned it. Except Elena. The heated discussions that past between the two of them on the subject had been heard around work countless times in the past few weeks. She'd never gotten anywhere, but she hadn't given up. Now though…. _Did she finally get through to him? _

Noticing that Reno kept staring at Elena's desk, Rude spoke up, startling Reno from his thoughts. "She called in sick."

"Oh," Reno replied quietly, only looking more worried.

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_Sick?_ Reno thought, frowning at the computer mouse on his desk. _I hope she's not really sick… she probably just doesn't want to see me. _He didn't blame her, he was almost relieved. What on earth was he going to say to her anyway? He'd said what he could already, and she hadn't called back. _Did she get the message? _He wondered how she'd reacted to it.

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Elena made herself lunch, but when she sat down to eat it, realized she wasn't hungry. Shoving the food in the fridge, she sat on the couch and stared at her TV, deciding she didn't want to watch it. Looking at the bookshelf across the room, she almost got up to pick a book, but had no interest in that either. Her phone, resting on the small table in front of her, caught her eye. Picking it up, she listened to the message that had been left there last night for the second time. _"I'm going to change how things are now…" _He'd said those words, but had he meant them? If he'd meant them, would he stick to them? There were so many questions, but no answers.

She spent the day wandering around her apartment, not wanting to do anything. She listened to the message countless times, not sure why she was doing it. It wasn't like she had missed any of the words, she was whispering them with the recorded voice now. Maybe, maybe it was because they were so beautiful to her. Slowly, as the day went on, she felt as if clouds were being pushed back from a stormy sky and the sun was shoving it's way through. _"I need you, Elena."_ She mouthed the words, sorry to hear his voice go for the hundredth time.

"I need you too, Reno," Elena said aloud to herself. It was late, it had taken her almost a whole day to make this realization. She felt better, less confused, but still anxious. She hadn't seen, or spoken to Reno since. She still didn't know what she was going to say, or what she would do. Falling into an uneasy slumber, she awaited, with longing and dread, what the next day would bring her.

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Reno spent the evening wondering what to do with himself. He sat on the couch fidgeting uselessly with his phone, his EMR, the TV remote. Finally, annoying himself, he tucked his hands under his arms. He was starting to feel ill and didn't know why. He had to keep jerking his attention away from thoughts that threatened to crush his new resolve. How good would it be to not have to think all the bothersome thoughts that screamed for attention? The unanswerable questions that repeated themselves endlessly, could be silenced, the pain would go away. It wouldn't take much, just a walk down the street since he'd foolishly gotten rid of everything at home. _Stop it! _Reno reprimanded himself, clenching his teeth and deciding to go to bed. _If I'm asleep, I can't go drink anything. _

For hours and hours he lay awake, finally gaining a few moments of sleep before it was time to go to work. _Insomnia sucks. _He grumbled in his head, rubbing his tired eyes.

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The Shinra headquarters building loomed next to her, the tallest, proudest building in the whole grey city. Elena didn't crane her neck to see the top. She hadn't done that since her first week of employment here. Eyes fixed on the ground as they were, she didn't see the familiar redhead until she was almost at the very doors of the building. Jerking her head up suddenly, she saw him. His hands were deep in his pockets and his tall, lanky frame leaned against the wall. He too had been focused on the ground, but turned his head swiftly almost at the same moment she had. There were dark circles under his eyes, made more noticeable by the normal paleness of his face. He looked, accurately, like he hadn't had a wink of sleep the whole night.

"Elena…" he said, almost excited, but with a touch of sadness. Pushing off the wall quickly, and pulling his hands out of his pockets, he took two long strides to reach her. Hesitating only a second, Reno stepped closer and put his arms around her with more gentleness than she ever knew he was capable of. He held her in his arms so softly, almost as if she were something incredibly delicate and fragile, that could shatter in an instant. "I love you."

Elena hadn't moved yet. Those words though…she knew Reno enough to know he meant them. Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt the emotions all fall into place and leave her feeling sure again. Slowly, she brought her own arms up around his shoulders, laying her head against his neck. The tears were back now, although no longer of hurt, sadness, or confusion. These were tears of relief, of joy.

The two didn't move for several minutes, standing in the middle of the busy sidewalk outside the front entrance of Shinra, Inc, holding each other. From the background noise surrounding them, a pair of footsteps came closer, than stopped. Too wrapped up to really notice, the two Turks didn't pay much attention until the footsteps continued moments later, now accompanied by a hummed rendition of the wedding march. This got their attention and both looked up to see Rude just turning his back on them and humming away as he walked into the building, turning to cast a rare smile over his shoulder.

Reno grinned down at the girl in his arms, who smiled back, wiping the few remaining tears from her eyes.

"Aw, you don't have to cry," he said softly, still smiling. He looked incredibly relieved, as if he'd been supporting the entire weight of Midgar and it was finally gone.

"Shut up," she tugged playfully on the ponytail of blood red hair, slightly ashamed to be seen right in front of the building all teared-up.

"You're going to be late," Reno mentioned.

"And you're going to be on time for once," Elena took his hand and practically dragged him into the building.

"No, 'Laney!" he groaned, struggling half-heartedly, "I'd follow you to the very gates of hell, but don't make me go to work on time!"

"Stop being a baby," she forced him into the elevator, pushing the button for their floor, and then, taking advantage of the empty elevator, shoved Reno against the wall and kissed him, hard. His hands quickly found their way around her waist as he enthusiastically kissed her back. "See? Coming to work on time has it's perks," Elena whispered, letting her lips brush over his as she spoke.

"Or it's disadvantages, depends on how you look at it," Rufus Shinra said conversationally, stepping into the elevator. Startled, Elena detangled herself from Reno as quickly as she could, turning completely beet red in an instant.

"Good morning, sir, I'm sorry, sir," she squeaked. Reno straightened up, looking slightly unnerved, but keeping his never-shaken casual air.

"Oh, carry on. Don't mind me," Rufus looked up from the expensive cell phone in his hand and smiled charmingly, "I wouldn't want to interrupt." Neither of the Turks said anything, nor did they 'carry on'. The silence was oppressive as the white trench-coat-clad man returned his attention to his phone. "My this is awkward," Rufus said moments later with a careless laugh, "Well, I do believe this is your floor. Remember, there are security cameras in here." Waving cheerfully, Rufus continued up in the elevator after the Turks exited as swiftly as humanly possible.

Silence reigned for a few moments after the silver doors slid shut, before they both broke into hysterical laughter. Elena fell against Reno, who fell against the wall, and then to the floor. Gasping for breath, tears tolling down their faces, the two couldn't stop. Finally Rude and Tseng showed up to see what was going on. Observing their laughter-stricken comrades rolling on the floor, neither said anything for quite some time. When the laugher subsided to an extent, Tseng spoke.

"Well?" he said, expectantly.

"Elevator…" Elena managed to say between episodes of laughter.

"Making out," Reno added, holding his aching sides.

"Rufus!" Elena threw in, as they attempted to tell their story.

"You made out with Rufus in the elevator?" Tseng asked, deeply confused. This sent them into new fits of hilarity.

"Yes!" Reno gasped, not doing anything to help them stop laughing.

"Are you serious?" Tseng's eyes went wide with horror, "Which one of you?"

"I believe he's joking," Rude offered, smirking. The few words made a lot more sense to him, since he'd seen them outside earlier.

"I give up," Tseng threw his hands up and went back to his office. Rude went back to his desk before long, leaving the other two to laugh it off.

_Author's Note: lol, this last part was one of those things that just happens....I didn't plan it at all...it just happened. I keep imagining it and it cracks me up every time. =P I don't write for Rufus much, so forgive me if you think I'm getting him all wrong or something. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!!! Please review and let me know what you think ok? xD THANK YOU GUYS!!!_


	13. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: An update! Hurrah! I'm surprised I managed to get one out this soon actually, I've been completely exhausted lately and I don't know why. I've been trying to go to bed early and everything, but I can not seem to get enough sleep. I have like a constant headache, and I just don't feel well in general. So please excuse any lameness or mistakes or boringness in this chapter. It may seem random and pretty uneventful, but it's important none the less! _

_I've been getting a lot of reviews from people lately, my regular reviewers as well as new reviewers, and it's so delightful, I really want to thank you all again. All of you who take that extra bit of time to let me know what you thought, you guys are just fantastic, thanks so much! =) Please, keep it up! xD Read, review, repeat. Enjoy!_

Elena surveyed the stack of paperwork sitting on her desk, patiently waiting to be completed. _Why are we always so behind on this stuff? _She wondered, slightly annoyed as she flipped through the first file. _Oh. I forgot. _She sighed. _Reno. _He too had glanced over the stack of paperwork awaiting his attention, and instead of buckling down with determination like Elena, he had casually pushed it out of the way so his feet could be kicked up on his desk comfortably while he took a nap. Rolling her eyes, Elena twirled a pen into her fingers and started writing.

Reno's nap didn't seem to be going so well. He kept moving, not staying still for more than a few seconds at a time. His sighs became increasingly loud and long. Finally he pulled his lanky legs off the desk and grabbed a couple of files. Elena watched, her excitement mounting. _Is he working? He's working! Yes, he's… _her joy met a painful death as the redhead, rather than filling them out, used the files as a pillow. Elena gave up on watching Reno's struggle and dragged her attention back to the lifeless paper in front of her.

"I can't sleep," Reno said flatly. She looked over at him. He was staring at her glumly, slouched in his chair with his feet kicked up again. The 'pillow' files had been brushed to the floor.

"Well," Elena got up quietly from her chair and started picking the papers up off the floor, "You're not supposed to be sleeping at work. Maybe you could think about doing some of this paperwork instead?" She set the files back on his desk. He seemed to contemplate this for a moment.

"Nah," he shook his head, "I don't want to work, I want to sleep. I'm tired," he groaned, "Besides, working is dangerous. I might get a paper cut or something." Elena couldn't help but laugh at the look of utter horror on the redhead's face.

"New mission," Tseng announced, abruptly walking into the room. Once he was sure he had their attention, he continued, "There is an assistant in one of the main research labs that has been exhibiting strange, even suspicious behavior. He's reportedly been working late, staying after for several hours almost every night, either by himself, or with only one or two others. This is not necessarily suspicious, Shinra likes dedicated employees, however he has also been noted spending quite a bit of time going through files. Once again, not necessarily suspicious, but he looks at so many files and so frequently. Also not all are related to the area of research this man assists in. The majority consist of blueprints and security technology. Obviously, this is disturbing and very likely leads to something bigger. For this reason, instead of simply doing away with him quietly, we are going to watch him."

"Um, sir?" Elena asked, "Why don't we just get rid of him? Problem solved!"

"Well if he were to…disappear, this would alert any he is working with that they have been discovered. Then our jobs would become much more difficult as they would know we were on to them. He may be working on his own, it may be nothing, but we must take precautions."

"Rookie," Reno spit his tongue out at Elena teasingly.

"Shut up," she frowned, blushing slightly, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips.

"As I was saying," Tseng said loudly, staring at the two pointedly, "We need to keep an eye on this man, watch what he does, where he goes, who he talks to. A more permanent decision on his fate will be made from the information gathered. Rude, I think you'd be perfect for this one." Rude nodded, wordlessly taking the file Tseng handed him. "Since he's a Shinra employee we have a significant amount of information on the man. You shouldn't have a problem tracking him. I want the three of you to switch off watching him, but I would like it to be mainly Rude. Understood?" The other Turks nodded, and Tseng left the room again.

Rude took his time carefully reading through the file, and then set it down on his desk. With a nod to his co-workers, he left the room, presumably to begin his task.

"Rude should be perfect for this!" Elena said, glad that she understood the reason for Tseng's choice, "He's so quiet, you would hardly notice he's around. Especially when he doesn't want to be seen. Unlike a certain redhead we all know, who could wake the dead!" She smiled with pride, paying him back for the name-calling earlier.

"Who, me?" Reno looked mockingly indignant. He shook his head, and pushed her playfully away from his desk. She smirked and turned, heading back for her own desk. She stifled a scream as arms wrapped suddenly around her waist and a voice whispered in her ear, "So I'm loud am I?" Reno had slipped away from his desk and appeared behind her practically out of thin air, making not a whisper of sound.

"You scared the hell out of me, Reno!" Elena pressed a hand over her heart, and lent against him, stepping purposefully, but lightly, on his foot. Chuckling, he kissed her neck and went back to his desk, back to attempting to nap.

"You're not going to work?" Elena asked, seated again at her desk.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" he questioned with mock surprise.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because I suspect you of never having filled out any paperwork in your life, so it's high time you started helping out, especially considering that Rude is now busy on a mission and he does most of the paperwork around here," Elena said casually, clicking her pen open and going to work.

"Ok then," Reno straightened up in his chair, dug around in his desk until he found a pen, and proceeded to blow enormous amounts of fake dust of it.

"Your childishness knows no bounds, Reno," Elena said, although she couldn't help but smile at his antics. Ignoring her comment and flipping a file open with exaggerated determination, Reno began to imitate Tseng. The look, the movements, he had it all down to perfection. Elena tried not to laugh, really she did, but it was a futile effort and was soon wasted when Reno cast her a disapproving look one only received from the Turk leader. The imitation was so good, she broke into hysterical laughter. This drew the attention of Tseng, who came out of his office, clearly annoyed by the second fit of hysterics that had assaulted his Turks today.

"What's going on out here?" he said sternly, crossing his arms in the doorway.

"I must say, I really have no idea," Reno began imitating Tseng's voice now, as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and mimicking Tseng's facial expression, "Elena seems to find something amusing."

Tseng was startled for barely a second before quickly recovering his cool and casting an evil glare at Reno. The redhead was shaking his said sadly, haughtily.

"Really, Elena, could you please _attempt_ to act like an adult at work _for once_?" Reno's mockery of Tseng showed no signs of ending, even though the man himself was in the room now, and clearly catching on. The emphasis on the certain words was so like Tseng, it would be impossible for anyone to mistake it. As much as she tried to stop, Elena couldn't. Tseng was glaring daggers at the redhead now, quite livid.

"Reno, stop this at once. It is immature, disrespectful, and completely uncalled for," Tseng said sternly.

"Stop what?" the redhead calmly turned his gaze to his boss, all of his face acting the part except for his aqua eyes which sparkled mischievously, "I'm not the one doing anything wrong. I'm being serious at work, despite the horrendous distraction Elena is causing by her unnecessary and uncalled for joviality. Her cheerfulness is quite sickening," Reno said, still imitating Tseng's voice as well as attempted to display a complete disgust for all things joyful.

"I don't have to put up with this!" Tseng shouted, before quieting his voice, "Rufus is going to hear about this. I don't care how well you do your job, you are a nuisance and Shinra will do much better without you!"

"But Rufus loves my Tseng impression!" Reno said, returning to himself with a devilish grin that was only Reno. A mild look of horror passed over Tseng's face.

"If Rufus wishes to condone such childish activities, fine, but I don't have to stand here and listen to it." Tseng turned sharply and slammed his office door behind him.

"He knows he can't get me fired," Reno said calmly, smiling triumphantly and tapping his fingers rhythmically on the desk. Elena had managed to stop laughing at this point, but had given up on working for the moment.

"You really shouldn't ruffle him up like that, Reno," she said, speaking more from habit than actual concern for Tseng's feelings, "Look what happened last time."

"Yeah," Reno looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully, still tapping on the wood, "Maybe he'll outright shoot me next time." He grinned, as if something about this was funny.

"Don't even say that," Elena said, the image killing her happy mood instantly, "Do you mind?" She stared at this fingers, the constant noise starting to irk her.

"Well if I stop, they do this," Reno stopped tapping his fingers and they shook. The involuntary movement was slight, but noticeable, "I was tapping so you wouldn't notice, but…"

"Hmm, great at hiding things from me, aren't we?" Elena said sarcastically, though a frown was on her face, "What's the matter?" Reno sighed heavily, and clasped his hands together to keep them from shaking.

"Well…" he began, struggling for the explanation, "When your system gets…used to something, and then it's taken away, it…reacts." Elena found the slight frown he wore on his face oddly adorable, but this was no time to turn all gushy. "It's happened before, so I know what I'm in for, but if you want a detailed description of all the why's and how's, just look it up. Withdrawal. Official terminology."

"Ok," Elena made a mental note to look it up later, but something else had interested her right now, "So you tried to quit before?"

"Once," Reno nodded, and then smirked, "Didn't last long though." He sighed and folded his long arms behind his head, spinning his chair around lazily.

Elena didn't comment. She turned back to her work, deep in thought. _I hope he can stick with it this time. _

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Reno gave an exaggerated sigh, and fumbled around in his pockets as his cell rang.

"What?" he answered bluntly.

"This guy's definitely suspicious," Rude's voice replied, not phased in the slightest by the abrupt greeting, "He shouldn't be leaving for another hour or so. I want you to go to his house and bug everything. The address is in the folder on my desk. He has no family, so there shouldn't be anyone there."

"Isn't this the kind of thing you tell Tseng, and then he deals with it?" Reno whined.

"Why do I need to tell Tseng? He'll just repeat it to you. I might as well tell you myself."

"He might have made Elena do it…" Reno mumbled grumpily, annoyed that his all-day nap was being disturbed for this. He glanced at the blonde who was bent over her work, noticing that she wasn't even paying attention.

"She's doing paperwork, you're doing nothing."

"Whatever, I'll do it," Reno gave another exaggerated sigh, and clicked the phone closed.

"Doing something for Rude, I'll be back in a bit," he grabbed a couple things and waved to Elena before heading out the door.

_There, _Reno smiled satisfactorily to himself, _You're not doing anything we won't know about. _He had just finished hiding away the last of the several tiny devices he'd secreted around the man's home. The computer was hacked, the phone line was hacked, and a couple microphones had been thrown around for good measure. _You can't even sneeze without us knowing. _He smirked. This guy did not know what he was getting himself into. With little trouble, his mail could be intercepted easily, although Reno doubted anyone would be dumb enough to send hardcopies of anything 'sensitive'. It would be slightly more difficult, but Reno was confident he could manage to plant a listening device in the man's cell as well. He was mildly excited by this mission. There hadn't been anything interesting for months. Now they were getting to do a bit of real espionage, much more entertaining than simple stalking. He hoped that whatever the guy was up to, he'd hidden it well. It would be no fun to bust him at once. _That's probably what will happen though. _The slightest hint of anything, and Shinra will order him 'dealt with'. _They don't take chances much. Whatever. _Taking a last look around the small home, Reno left, making sure everything was as he'd found it, down to the last speck of dust.

This is what he was best at. Despite his seeming clumsiness, Reno moved quickly and lightly with care. Elena was slight, but had unforgiving moments of klutziness, Rude was quite, and melded into shadows wonderfully, but was a bit heavier, and not as gentle. Reno moved more like a ghost than a person. You'd never know he was there if he didn't want you to. His slight build helped considerably. Footsteps practically light as a feather left no mark, and gentle fingers with a careful touch never even disturbed the air. He could come and go and do as he pleased, and no one would be the wiser.

As he headed home, Reno passed by a bar, one he usually frequented. Finding his steps slowly automatically, he sighed and glared at his feet, forcing them to speed up. The longer he went without it, the more he wanted it, and the harder it became to resist. He tried to keep himself distracted, but now he knew the rest of the day was going to be a struggle just to keep away from alcohol. _At least there's none at home,_ he thought, bitterly annoyed with himself, _Yeah, there's nothing at home. Well wait, there's Elena. Sometimes. _Things looked brighter when he reminded himself of this. The mere thought of her presence had kept him out of more than one bar already. He was realizing that he didn't _need_ the alcohol, like he'd believed for the longest time. _Not like I need her. _Suddenly longing to see the girl, Reno picked up his pace to get back to work as quickly as possible.

_Author's Note: So I have a limited knowledge of the whys and hows of the whole withdrawal thing myself, so I didn't want to go into it. =) I wanted you guys to know what was going on, but I only researched enough to get some symptoms and a basic understanding. =P I'm too lazy to read enough to understand it well enough to explain cleverly in text. xD Sorry for my laziness. Hope you liked the chapter! Please leave me a review, and watch for updates! Love you guys! =)_


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's Note: Ok, so I wasn't happy with the last chapter, but I'm really happy with this one. =) I've been reading a lot of awesome stories lately, and it's making me realize that I can certainly do a lot better than I am doing. So I tried hard. xD Hope you guys like it! I'm happy to say I've smashed my previous record of most hits in a month, and it's all thanks to you guys!! Three cheers for the readers!!! So thank you guys so much, and keep it up! Remember, read, review, repeat! Enjoy the chapter guys!_

Reno flipped through the TV channels angrily. Elena had wanted to run back to her apartment before coming over as usual, so Reno was sitting on the couch in t-shirt and jeans waiting for her.

"What the hell is the world's problem?" he muttered in annoyance, changing the channel once again as yet another bar scene came on the screen, "They're all out to get me." Finally, he left it on some cooking show, deciding it was the only 'safe' thing to watch. Setting the remote down, Reno stretched out his long legs with a sigh, leaning his head back. Blowing the fluttery ends of his blood red hair out of his face, he let his eyes close. He hadn't been able to sleep hardly at all lately and it was wearing on him. _Why is there always something? _He wondered, frustrated. _My life never could just be simple, or easy could it. Not even for one damn day. _Then there was a knock on the door, and Reno decided the day had just gotten a whole lot better.

Hopping up he covered the space from the couch to the door in a few, quick, long strides. The grin was already on his face before he even opened the door to see the girl he knew would be waiting there. Sure enough, Elena smiled back at him, slipping her cell into her jacket pocket.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, gesturing towards the sweat pants she wore, "I knew you wouldn't." She didn't wait for him to answer, which was fine with him. He didn't care.

"Hi," Reno said, kicking the door shut behind her and folding his arms around her. She hugged him back tightly, pulling herself up on her toes to kiss his lips quickly. Reno smirked. She still turned slightly red when she kissed him. He thought it was adorable, but he never mentioned it. He didn't want to embarrass her, or make her mad or something.

"Cooking shows, Reno?" Elena asked, settling herself on the couch and looking up at him with a quizzically amused expression as he sat next to her.

"It was the only safe thing to watch," he said, looking at the TV again, "Oh, but wait! No, they have to put alcohol all over the place too!" Switching the channel with a vengeance, Reno scowled. They just had to cook with it now didn't they.

"Aw, poor guy," Elena scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and entwining her fingers with one of his hands, "I'm really proud of you, you know."

"I know," Reno sighed, rubbing his eyes with his free hand. No one spoke except for the weather man, who cheerily announced nothing but rain, clouds, and more rain for Midgar.

"Thank you," Elena whispered, breaking the silence, "I don't know how much longer I would have had you if you'd kept drinking like that. It would have been awful, living without you." Her voice started to waver slightly and Reno felt her holding on to him tighter, as if she could still loose him.

"Hey, don't think about it. Everything's going to be fine now," he said, turning his body more to face her and putting his arm around her. His words appeared to comfort the girl, and for once in his life, Reno actually believed them himself too. His hands were trembling again, and he frowned, balling them into fists to keep them still. The movement hadn't escaped Elena's notice though, and she looked up at him, eyes filled with concern.

"You are going to be ok, right? I mean, we don't like need to see a doctor or anything?" she asked, her hand resting lightly on his chest.

"I'll be alright," Reno said softly, "As long as I've got you." He usually felt incredibly awkward expressing any gentler emotion, sometimes he couldn't even bring himself to say what he was feeling. With Elena though, he just knew he could say anything, even though it was still hard for him to express his feelings sometimes. It was getting easier, and he loved telling her what she meant to him. Elena's hand tightened, gripping his shirt in her fingers and she slid into his lap.

"Oh, you'll always have me," she whispered tauntingly, brown eyes sparkling like his did often, "In fact, you won't be able to get rid of me."

Reno tensed, unable to move for some reason. He'd never really been frozen by any girl before, but he couldn't help it now. He had no idea what she was going to do next. Elena herself didn't exactly know what she was doing, she was a bit surprised to find herself in Reno's lap, but it was no surprise that she liked it. Bending her head down, she kissed him, slow and deep. She noticed he was slightly stiff, but he melted into her kiss swiftly and easily, sliding his hands up her legs to rest on her hips.

The weather man's voice carried on in his painfully cheerful tone, oblivious to the fact that the room's occupants were to caught up in each other to hear him. It seemed that after the rain, the weather would be turning sunny.

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Reno lay awake, simply gazing upon the blonde girl sleeping on her stomach next to him. Glimmers of morning light strayed through the curtains, glinting off her hair and making her skin glow. She was mostly covered in blankets, but her bare shoulders and arms peeked out from beneath. He spared a glance at the clock, and sighed, regretful that time had to pass. He had been able to sleep that night a littler more than was usual lately. Elena's quiet, even breathing had lulled him into restful sleep. Content to just lay there forever, Reno carefully ran his fingertips up her arm and across her back. Her creamy colored skin was soft and smooth, but that's just how Elena was. Everything about her was gentle. Another time he'd made contact with that soft, smooth skin flashed across Reno's mind and he flinched as if he'd been the one slapped. _I won't do it again, I couldn't live with myself if I hit you again. _Sliding closer, he pressed the lightest kiss he could to her shoulder. The longer he looked at her, the more beautiful she became. He couldn't drink in enough of her. His eyes moved up and down her covered form, memorizing every line, every curve of her body. Reno wanted to be able to close his eyes and see her as vividly as if she were standing before him. That is, if he ever had the misfortune of not having her with him.

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Elena found herself waking up, eyes dragging open slowly. They blinked a couple times, seeing but not comprehending. Suddenly they popped open, and she was staring blankly at Reno, who was looking back, his aqua eyes very close to hers. The events of the previous night returned to her and a rush of pink colored her cheeks.

"Good morning," she said, smiling brightly. Elena leaned in to kiss him. His long, strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close, his lean fingers stroking her back, making her tingly aware of her bare skin. Her fingers toyed with his hair, and their kiss grew more passionate until Elena found herself incredibly irritated by the sheet, which was the only thing between them. "We have to go to work," she breathed, regretfully breaking away.

"Screw work," Reno murmured, his lips caressing her neck.

"Under the circumstances, I'd say the same," she couldn't help but giggle, touching his arms, neck, and chest, "But there's that mission Rude's been working on…it seems kind of important."

Reno stopped, contemplating this for a moment. "You're right," he sighed, loosening his arms so she could wriggle away to find her clothes.

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Rude and Tseng were deep in conversation when the two other Turks showed up. Reno and Elena's hands were intertwined and they were wearing matching smiles.

"Oh, stop it," Elena giggled, pushing Reno away gently as he tried for the hundredth time to kiss her while they were walking through the Shinra headquarters. She blushed slightly, noticing the stares they got from both Tseng and Rude. Tseng's eyebrows went up, but he didn't say anything. The ghost of a smile appeared on Rude's face, and he carried on with his report.

"He hasn't gone anywhere suspicious, nowhere but work and then home, but he has been acting guilty. Nervous and …twitchy almost," Rude explained, his conversation quickly gaining the attention of the two late arrivals, "The information we're getting from the surveillance devices Reno planted is helpful. There's nothing blatantly incriminating, but he did receive an intriguing phone call last night. I have the transcription here for the file." Rude produced a page with a small bit of typed writing.

"This is interesting," Tseng mused, looking over it carefully, "'It's good to get away from work every once in awhile'," the dark haired man read off the paper, "'Certain vacation spots have perfect weather this time of year'."

"Uh, that seems perfectly normal conversation to me," Elena pointed out, quickly turning serious now that she was at work.

"Well it would be. If there was anyone who would normally say that to our man. According to all the information we've had on him for the years he's worked here, he has no family, and not many friends, all of whom are involved in Shinra," Tseng explained, then turned to Rude, "Was the call traced?" Rude nodded.

"Payphone," he said, disappointedly, "In the sector six slums."

"Well that is a problem," Tseng rested his chin on his hand and frowned in thought.

"He does make several calls on his cell throughout the day," Rude supplied. Reno started grinning.

"I'll swipe it, bug it, get it back to him, no problem," the redhead said confidently, "He'll never even notice anything happened."

"Really?" Tseng asked, uncertainly. Elena looked up at him doubtfully.

"Hell yeah, how do you think I changed your ring tone that day?" Reno said cockily, "It's not like you take naps at work or anything."

"That's right," Tseng narrowed his eyes at the memory, but didn't complain, "I never thought about how you did that. How did you do that?" He was all curiosity now.

"Trade secret," Reno smirked, "Ya gain a certain uh, skill set, shall we say growing up in the slums." Kissing Elena's hand before letting it go, Reno ambled out the door, "Back in a flash."

Rude went back to his desk, gathering together information to add to the mission's file after the redhead was gone. Elena stood there, turned a big bubbly yet again.

"Reno?" Tseng asked Elena quietly, not trying very hard to disguise the scorn in his voice, "Seriously, Elena?" The bubbliness was gone in an instant.

"You don't know him at all," the blonde turned on her boss, temper flaring up, "Not one bit. Don't even _think _about saying anything about him." Her eyes spoke the warning more potently than her words, and Tseng knew better than to push it. Shrugging, he tapped the paper with the phone conversation down on Rude's desk and went into his office.

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Finding the lab the suspect worked in with ease, Reno loitered around, recalling the picture of the man he'd seen and waiting. Finally he saw the man coming down the hall, towards the lab. Quickly starting to walk in the direction of the man, Reno couldn't help but grin. _Poor guy, coming to work, not suspecting a thing. He still won't suspect a thing when I'm done. _Keeping his eyes one the ground and walking swiftly, Reno purposefully collided with the man, knocking them both off balance a bit. With a clatter, a clip board and two cell phones fell to the floor.

"Damn, sorry man," Reno said, apologetically, as he quickly bent down and scooped up the fallen items, "Didn't see where I was goin'. Not a morning person, haven't had my coffee yet." With a disarming smile, Reno handed the man back his clipboard and merely glanced at the two phones before putting his own back in his pocket and giving the man's back to him. Of course, after slipping open the battery compartment and inserting a pea-sized microphone in the blink of an eye. _Practice makes perfect. _The man stared back, taking in the blood red hair and bright blue eyes. He looked more than a little frightened, but smiled back weakly, accepting his phone and rushing on.

Reno smirked to himself as he continued on down the hall, hopping in the elevator to return to the Turks' office.

_Author's Note: Also, I found a great video on youtube this evening. A Reno cosplayer strip dancing at a cosplay convention. =) Yes, I'm serious. He didn't completely strip, but that's fine. xD I laughed so hard, it hurt. I watched the video like three times, had to call my sister over to see it and watch it three more times. So if you want to see it, just let me know in your review and I'll direct you on how to find it. (Oh, wow I'm clever. Who wants to bet I'll get a lot of reviews? I swear I didn't plan that, it just occured to me.) But yeah, I don't think actual links can be sent through , so I'll just give you very specific directions. k? Anywho, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know I enjoyed writing it! THANKS FOR READING!!!_


	15. Chapter 15

_Author's Note: Another update! This is surprisingly quick considering I've had trouble writing the past two nights. =( So we're DEFINATELY getting some more action in this chapter. As I'm sure you all know, a mission that lasts for more than one chapter is kind of new for me. I don't really write action a lot. So I gave it a shot. Please let me know how you think it's going, I would appreciate the feedback! =) I'm sad to announce that the end is in sight, I've been having a lot of fun with this story. Of course, don't worry. Remember what happened with my last story? I kept saying there was only going to be one or two more chapters, and there ending up being like ten more. =P So we'll see. Also, I have SEVERAL more story ideas after this, so it's not like I won't have anything to post for you guys! I actually have a oneshot request which I will do once this story is finished. And then! Off to another chapter story. =) Anywho, I'm rambling. Enjoy the chapter and please review! Thank you!_

Reno swaggered in the door, with a grin and a wink for Elena. Hopping into his chair, so it slid several feet across the room. Scooting his chair back to it's place in front of his desk, Reno put on his Tseng impression serious face and cracked his knuckles before going to work at something on his computer. After a few minutes of deliberate clicking and fits of ferocious typing, Reno settled back with a satisfied sigh, putting his lean arms behind his head.

"Well, anything he says on his cell is now being recorded," the redhead said, triumphant. Rude nodded.

"Huh," Tseng had heard, came out of his office to investigate this for himself, "I didn't think you could do it."

"Maybe you'll learn to have a little more faith in me," Reno looked up at his boss, and though his usual mischievous smile remained, his eyes were serious, "I'm extremely talented at my job."

"Yes," Tseng said, drifting back into his office, thoughtful, "Yes, you are."

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Rude sighed and rubbed his forehead. All morning he'd been sitting at his desk, sorting through endless papers, and searching through equally endless files on his computer.

"I can't figure out who the hell he'd have been talking to," the normally quiet man said in frustration, "Or what they were talking about. He's scheduled to go away for several days within the week. I don't know where, and I don't know why."

"Hey, don't sweat it man," Reno said cheerfully, "Me and 'Laney will help ya." Setting his long fingers on the keyboard, Reno starting typing again, eyes flickering over the screen swiftly. "I'll check all modes of transportation out of the city. If he's staying, we can trace him easy. If he's goin' we need to be more prepared." Rude looked relieved by the assistance, and went back to his papers, muttering that he'd recheck all the man's known contacts.

"Can I help?" Elena asked after moments of silence. Reno glanced over at her.

"Not right now," he said curiously, pausing slightly after each word as he frowned at something on his screen, "But I'm thinking we'll have us a mission real soon." He was quiet for a minute, leaving them all in suspense. "Hey, Tseng! Get your ass out here!"

"I don't appreciate the language, Reno, but what?" Tseng appeared, quite annoyed in the doorway.

"It seems our buddy has gotten himself a flight out 'a here to Costa Del Sol. Lines up with the days he's takin' off work," Reno spun around in his chair to face Tseng, a smirk on his face. Frowning, Tseng leaned closer to the screen, reading the information. Rude and Elena came over to look as well.

"Reno, how did you get passenger information on airline flights?" Elena asked, astonished, "All that stuff is confidential."

"Are you kidding me? Their internet security is a joke! They're were practically begging me to hack it," Reno's eyes sparkled up at her and he flashed a bright smile.

"That is _so_ illegal," she said in a hissing whisper, eyes wide.

"When has illegal bothered a Turk?" he replied.

"Be quiet, you two, I'm thinking," Tseng reprimanded, waving a hand in their direction vaguely. Rude was pacing, deep in thought.

"Maybe he's meeting someone in Costa Del Sol," Elena suggested, "It's a vacation spot, and didn't the phone conversation say something about perfect weather for a vacation?"

"You're right," Rude mused, as they all looked back and forth from each other, "Just who is he meeting though?"

"Go and find out?" Reno offered.

"We'll definitely be going," Tseng said, grimly, "But I'd prefer to know what, who we are dealing with before anyone goes anywhere. Rude, keep stalking him today. We can only hope some light will be shed upon this person he's meeting."

"Uh, I think I can do a little more than 'light shedding'," Reno said, after a beep from his computer had drawn his attention, "Our man just got himself an email." They all flocked instantly around the screen again. The many surveillance devices Reno had planted, and the bit of hacking he'd done were paying off. A copy of an email spread out before them, containing nothing but a simple picture of a man's face.

"Rude, check that against the suspect's known contacts," Tseng ordered, "Reno, trace that email, find out anything you can." The man's brow was furrowed, as he contemplated their mission. "We need to know where he's staying in Costa Del Sol. Elena, can you work on that?"

"Um, yes sir," Elena said quickly, although she had no idea how she was going to do that. She didn't have the hacking skills Reno appeared to possess. The best she could do was look up good resorts, but then was this man likely to stay at a fancy resort, or a trashy motel? She didn't want Tseng to think she was incompetent, but this was not her area of expertise! Just as she was beginning to freak out, an email popped into her inbox. It was from Reno with hundreds of files attached.

_From his computer, search everything for any mention of where he'll be staying. _

_Reno_

'Thank you,' she mouthed at him, with a relieved smile. He winked and turned busily back to his computer. The room was silent except for clicking, typing, and the scratching of pens.

"Alright, what have we got?" Tseng rubbed his hands together about an hour later as he walked out of his office.

"The picture doesn't match up with anyone he's known to have contacted," Rude announced, "But I ran it against the entire Shinra database, and there's a match. It's not good news." Rude picked up two sheets of paper and handed them to Tseng, "It's one of Don Corneo's thugs. Closer to his boss than most, this guy works on sophisticated stuff only. None of the average dirty work for him."

"Great," Tseng said, sarcastically as he looked over the two sheets, one with the picture they'd gotten from the email, and the other with a different picture of the same man along with a bio. "Let's hope this whole thing hasn't gone too far. If he's in too deep, the Don won't give up easily. Reno, what have you got?" The redhead shrugged.

"The email came from an address with a fake name, all fake information," he said, "Not from a computer registered with Shinra, but that's all I can tell you." They all looked to Elena. Smiling proudly, she handed Tseng several papers.

"He made reservations at a resort," she smiled extra big at Reno. She wouldn't have had any results without his help, "He used a fake name, but the payment was made on his card, and the correspondence was in his email inbox. I have all the information on the place that's available online printed up for you." Elena finished, clearly pleased with her work. Grinning, Reno gave her a thumbs up.

"Good work, all of you," Tseng said, flipping through the papers he'd received, "I'll review the information and decide how best to go about this. You can all take the rest of the day off."

"Yes!" Reno jumped up, quickly shutting down his computer, "Let's go, 'Lena."

"Coming," she replied, grabbing her stuff and following him. Once they were in the lobby, Elena asked a question. "So would it be ok if I went to my place and grabbed some stuff, but then came back to your place and stayed with you for a ….while?"

"Absolutely not," the redhead said seriously, then threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close with a grin, "Yes, of course you can. Consider it your home too."

"Sweet. I just need to grab some things first."

"Do you want to go now? It's not like we've got anywhere to be," Reno turned their steps in the direction of Elena's apartment.

"You know," Reno commented as Elena went through her purse for her key while they stood outside her door, "I've never seen your apartment before."

"Well, it's nothing special," Elena pushed the door open, and went in, followed by Reno, "It's certainly not as messy as you're used to." She smiled when he stuck his tongue out at her.

"We can't all be good at the same stuff," he teased, "Besides, I don't really see the point of picking my stuff up. It's much easier to get to everything when it's laying around." He glanced around her apartment with interest.

"It's impossible to get anything if you have no idea where it is," she countered, "I'm going to go get some things. Don't break anything." She winked at him before dropping her purse on the table and walking off.

"I always drop things in the same place," the redhead called after her, poking around a bookshelf against the wall. He wandered around, looking at and occasionally touching Elena's things. He could hear her moving around in another room. Everything was tastefully, yet simply decorated, and impeccably neat and tidy.

"Ok, I've got what I need," Elena came back into the room with a bag in her hand.

"Is this your family?" Reno was standing in front of a wall with several pictures on it. Elena came over and stood beside him, looking up at the familiar faces.

"Yes," she said, quietly. Pointing to the people, she named them one by one, "This is my dad, and my mom. Here's my older sister. And our dog." Reno nodded.

"Where are they now?" he asked, though he sounded like he already knew the answer.

"All gone, one way or another." She pointed to her parents again, "Car accident, five years ago."

"Ah," Reno looked at them a few moments more before taking her bag from her and slinging it easily over his shoulder, "So you knew them then. That's better than I can say." The blonde smiled.

"Yeah, they were great. Well, let's get going, shall we?" Taking his free hand, the two Turks left together.

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Reno's eyes opened slowly the next morning. The moment light hit them, he cringed and squeezed them shut, rolling over to avoid it. He had a throbbing headache and felt a bit nauseous. Groaning and pushing his hair out of his face, he also noticed that Elena wasn't in his arms like she'd been when he'd fallen asleep. Sitting up slowly, he looked around, blinking several times. She wasn't in the room either. Tying a knot in the strings of the sweatpants he'd just pulled on with fumbling fingers, Reno wandered out of the room. He closed his eyes and yawned, promptly bumping into a wall.

"Ow," he said grumpily, glowering at the wall that dared be in his way.

"Try walking with your eyes open next time," Elena teased, looking over at him. She was in the kitchen, dressed in his shirt which reached just to the tops of her thighs. Bits of black lace peeked out from beneath. Only a few of the buttons were done in the middle, revealing parts of her bra which was also black and lacey.

"They're open now," Reno said grinning devilishly at her, before a twinge of pain from his head wiped the grin off his face, "You could have woken me up, ya know." He sat in a chair, slumping down with a sigh so his head rested on the back.

"You don't sleep well," Elena said, "I didn't want to wake you up when I was just going to make breakfast."

"True," Reno shrugged, squinting up at the light, "You noticed then?" Elena nodded and put a plate of food in front of him. "Thanks," he said, nibbling on a piece of toast.

"I noticed," she sat down, and looked over at him, "Not hungry?"

"I don't feel good," he put the toast back down, "Headache, nausea. I feel like I've got a hangover." Seeing her eyebrows raise slightly, he quickly pointed out, "It's another symptom of that damned withdrawal. Sucks."

"Ah," she got up and hugged him, leaning her head on his and rubbing his shoulders, "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," he muttered with a sigh, "Best part is, I get to go into work today, sit in that bright, sunny room and listen to Tseng bitch about everything in that whiney voice."

"Aw, he's not that bad," Elena said, grinning at his description of their boss, "He's just a bit…uptight." Reno looked up with a disbelieving look.

"Whatever," he crossed his arms and sighed, his eyes clearing as he continued looking up at her, "Did ya wear that on purpose?" he asked suddenly, eyes flicking over her quickly.

"Actually, no," the blonde replied, smirking, "Why? Is it doing something for you?" She backed off and spun in a small circle.

"A bit, yeah," Reno glanced at the clock and smirked. Standing up, he took a step and was standing right in front of her. Without missing a beat, he scooped Elena up and carried her back into the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked, even though she had a pretty good idea.

"Oh, nothing," he said, laying her down on the bed. He leaned over her, resting on his elbows, a knee pushed firmly between her thighs. He let his lips touch hers softly, his bright red hair spilling over his shoulder and tickling her neck. Kissing her softly, slowly, one of his hands found it's way to the buttons on his shirt that she was wearing. Stroking the buttons for a minute, his fingers quickly undid the few she'd had fastened. Elena held his face in her hands, pulling him into a deeper kiss as he pushed her further onto the bed with his knee. His hands gentle as ever, he slipped her arms out of the sleeves and pulled the shirt from beneath her.

"I need this," he whispered, pulling back an inch or so, "Time to get dressed." Sliding off the bed, aqua eyes sparkling with laughter, he shrugged the reclaimed shirt on and went in search of his work pants. Elena lay there for barely a second before propping herself up on her arms, mouth hanging open. Reno smiled at her over his shoulder.

"Better hurry, or we'll be late," he pulled his jacket on.

"Reno, that's mean!" Elena said loudly, catching her work clothes as Reno tossed them to her.

_Author's Note: lol That is mean. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!! Please drop me a review, let me know what you thought. =) Hopefully I will update soon. I've been pretty good about it lately. I'm having a bit of writer's block though. _ Isn't it strange that this story started out as a purely comedic story? And then it morphed....so...stories do have lives of their own. They write themselves a lot of the time. OH! My friend (who writes actual books, not just fanfiction) submitted her first manuscript to a publishing company today. So cross your fingers that they'll see how genius it really is! She's great, you can take my word for it. =) If it ever gets published...I'll let you guys know. xD _


	16. Chapter 16

_Author's Note: So this is a short update, but it was a good place to end a chapter so...I apologize for the longer wait, and the fewer words. I've had some bad writer's block lately. I wrote all of this last night actually. I'm going to keep my author's note REALLY short tonight, since it's kind of late where I am right now and I have to get up early. =( Also I have something in mind I need to write. xD So read, review, repeat!!! Enjoy!!_

Throwing another long look in Elena's direction, Reno pushed their elevator button. She was deliberately looking the other way, and she hadn't spoken a word since they'd been at home. He didn't think she was actually angry with him, but just in case…

"Sorry 'bout earlier, baby," Reno smirked, draping a long arm over her shoulders, and pulling her up against him. She didn't try to stop him, but crossed her arms and stood stiffly. Letting his voice drop to whisper, he put his lips to her ear, "I'll make it up to you later. Promise." Feeling her body sort of melt into his, he smiled. _Mission accomplished. _

"You'd better," she said stiffly, but he could hear her smile in her voice.

"Hey, Rude," Reno mock saluted as they walked through the door. Rude gave an acknowledging nod. Twirling his EMR by his side and then tapping it rhythmically on his shoulder, Reno walked right into Tseng's office and plopped into a chair, pushing a stack of papers off the desk and onto the floor to make room for his combat boot-clad feet.

"So what's our mission? We goin' for somethin' subtle, or we gonna just walk in an' shoot 'em both?" Reno checked the strap on his EMR, making sure it was fastened securely to his wrist.

"Incidentally, _we_ shall not be doing anything. Only one of us is necessary," Tseng glared in annoyance at Reno's feet, then focused his attention on the other two who had followed the redhead into Tseng's office, "It will be a simple assassination, only the Shinra employee requires termination. Elena will be able to handle it easily." Tseng glanced over the papers he'd been holding in his hand, enjoying the stunned silence that filled the room for a second. Reno's feet clattered off the desk as he sat up suddenly.

"Elena?! But she's never even been on a mission by herself! This one's damn important," Reno looked back and forth between Tseng and the girl, surprise and worry on his face, "I know she can do it, but sendin' her alone is dangerous." He let his eyes rest on her, forehead wrinkled with concern. She looked just as surprised as he did, and her mouth hung open slightly.

"Elena, can you do it?" Tseng set his pen down and looked her steadily in the eye.

"Um, I think…Yes, sir," she answered, straightening up.

"Then it's settled," Tseng looked mostly at Reno, "Elena shall go by herself."

"Look, if something happens she could get hurt," Reno jabbed a finger on the desk, "Send me instead this time. We're dealing with one of the Don's men, Tseng. She can go on the next mission, just let me take this one."

"No," Tseng said firmly, his face stone, "The target has already seen you, and you are way too noticeable anyway. Besides, I don't think you could pass for a cocktail waitress." Clearly this last line amused the man immensely as he smiled to himself despite the fact that everyone else in the room was extremely tense.

"Wait, what?" Elena asked, frowning.

"Our target is staying in a busy resort, he will hardly ever be alone. It's too risky to take a shot at him. We're going with poison," Tseng pulled a small, white paper packet from his drawer, "You need to be able to get this in his drink. So I've utilized Shinra's influence and you are leaving on a flight this afternoon to Costa Del Sol to start working as a cocktail waitress. You'll have a few days to get used to your surroundings before the target arrives. You will have to use your own ingenuity to ensure you serve our man. Simply slip this into his drink, it will dissolve, scentless and tasteless. You leave as soon as he is served, returning to Midgar by train, and all is taken care of. No information leak, no harm done to the Don's man. He will have no reason to pick a fight with us without admitting to his scheme."

"Why am I returning by train instead of plane?" Elena asked the most random of the many questions buzzing in her head. She was slightly overwhelmed by all the information being thrown at her at once.

"So you don't use the same mode of transportation twice. Covers tracks better," Tseng neatly signed a few papers before slipping them into a thick file and handing it to her, "You'll be gone for about a week total. Of course, we can't have any contact with you while you are there. None of us, for any reason." Here Tseng looked straight at Reno. "We can't risk blowing your cover. There's a page in there with all the fake information about yourself. If you memorize it, even the nosiest person won't find any flaws in your story. Questions?" Tseng smiled from one to the other.

"Give us a minute," Reno answered quickly, standing up and steering Elena out of the room. The girl looked a little lost as she stared blankly at the file in her hands. Making her sit down on his desk, Reno took the file out of her hands and set it aside for the moment.

"You ok?" he asked quietly, standing in front of her, his hands in his pockets.

"Yeah, it's just a lot to process," she was silent for a second before looking up at him, "What if I mess up? What if I forget something? If they find out who I am, how the hell am I going to get out of there? How-"

"Hey, hey, hey, chill out," Reno put a hand over her mouth as her voice started to rise, "Don't freak out, it's a not a bad mission. The catch is, it can get real complicated real fast if something goes wrong. You're going to do great though, I know you will. You've got plenty of time to go over the file," he put it back in her hands, "And Tseng can answer all your questions before you go. It's not that bad, you can do it, right?"

"Yeah," Elena took a breath, "Yeah, I can do it."

"Alright, I'll go tell him you're readin' it," Reno squeezed her hand reassuringly and disappeared back into Tseng's office.

Elena slipped off Reno's desk and sat in her chair, taking another calming breath, regaining her composure. Flipping the file open, she started going through it's contents with determination. Her first solo mission was going to be a success, she would make sure of it.

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"Got everything?" Rude asked calmly, as Elena looked over her stuff one last time. She'd had to run home and pack a bag quickly, after going through the file thoroughly. She felt immensely better with a deep understanding of all the details, but it was still going a bit fast for her.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," she was about to leave the Shinra building for the airport. She had to go alone since they didn't want any of them to be seen with her by anyone that could 'tell' on them.

"Come here," Reno took her arm and pulled her out of the room and around the corner in the hall. Without any other words, he simply put his arms around her waist and pressed his lips against hers. Elena wasn't quite sure how, but his kiss seemed to have a great deal of seriousness about it. She hugged him tightly, kissing him back, suddenly feeling like he needed her to hold on to him.

"Are _you_ going to be ok?" she asked, once they broke apart. She'd noticed the tremors in his hands were back.

"Yeah, don't worry 'bout me. I'm fine," Reno clenched his fists to stop the shaking, "Damned withdrawal. I'll be ok though. I'm gonna miss ya, 'Laney." He took her hand and led her back to where the other two were waiting.

"Well, I'd better get going," Elena said with a smile, picking up her bag, "See you all soon." With a wave, she stepped into the elevator, looking back at them as the shiny door slid closed silently behind her. The instant you couldn't see her, Reno turned sharply back to his desk, hands in his pockets.

"If anything happens to her I'll kill you," Reno said to the Turk leader, not a trace of humor on his face.

"You wouldn't get away with it," Tseng said calmly, going back into his office.

"Gettin' away with it wouldn't be important at that point," Reno muttered, the rebuttal spoken more to himself than anyone.

_Author's Note: Oh, I also wanted to apologize for not replying to reviews last time. I've been a bit busy and haven't gotten a chance yet. I promise I will though, and I promise I read them and thoroughly appreciate them. =) So go ahead and click on the greenish button and drop me a line. Your thoughts count. You'd be amazed how much a single random thought someone mentions to me can change the whole story. I can't remember it specifically right now for some reason, but once I completely changed a scene that I'd already written just because a reader thought of something she/he really wanted to see and I thought it was better than what I had. =) So yeah. That's proof that your thought's count!!!! Anywho, I'm rambling. Love you guys! *hugs for all* =)_


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's Note: So first of all, TWO UPDATES IN TWO DAYS! That's good. =) Secondly, I promise I am not emo, or an alcoholic, or addicted to anything (except maybe Reno). That being said, I love this chapter. =) It's the fruits of me coming back to writing after two awful days of writer's block. And some amazing music. Anywho, I seriously hope you guys love it as much as I do! I'm about to go reply to all my reviews from the past two chapters, I loved all of them by the way. =) Read, review, repeat!!! And most importantly enjoy. xD _

After an uneventful flight, Elena had collected her luggage, and now stood outside the airport looking around. Everything had gone off without a hitch, but she was still almost queasy from nervousness. Trying her best not to look like a tourist, Elena grabbed a taxi and got on her way to the resort. _Then again, _she thought to herself, peering eagerly out the window, _practically everyone here is a tourist. I'd fit in better as a tourist. _Costa Del Sol was a beautiful place, much nicer than Midgar in her opinion, but worry about her mission hung over everything like a cloud. It was hard to appreciate clear blue skies and white, sandy beaches when you were looking at everyone as a potential threat. Finally, the car pulled up at the resort. Elena's mouth dropped open slightly as she stepped out. This place was posh, and she'd seen Rufus' house before! Setting her jaw, she focused her attention on the job at hand. This was her first solo mission, and she was not going to let it get out of hand.

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Reno attempted whistling a cheery tune, but quickly stopped, finding the sound more annoying than anything. He was just trying to trick himself into thinking he was ok. He knew he wasn't, but he wouldn't admit it. He clung to some hope that if he didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't be true. It was only a matter of time however. Leaning forward on the couch, he deftly flipped open the warm pizza box in front of him. _Nothing like a bit of TV with pizza and a….not a beer._ He frowned at a slice of pepperoni. Another attempt at false contentment had failed miserably. And now he was stuck thinking about beer, liquor, anything with alcohol really. _Damn, how great would it be to black out until morning,_ he thought had trouble sleeping, which had never really been a problem before since he'd knocked out from drinking almost every night for a long time. Things were different now though. _Maybe just this one night…_The thought was incredibly tempting. If he stayed very still, he could have sworn he felt himself being pulled down. The redhead sighed and reached around for the remote, turning the volume up to drown out his thoughts. _Something funny, something funny. _He searched the channels for a comedy. He had a chance of resisting if he could find something to make him laugh and be happy. Pleased with himself, he settled on a good old sitcom.

While it was mildly distracting, Reno couldn't quite ignore the familiar urge that he hadn't felt in days. It seemed to be returning with a vengeance though, because it kept getting stronger and stronger. _Crap. _When the show cut to commercials, he rested his elbows on his knees with his head in his hands. Fingers running through his hair, Reno grimly realized he was losing. He looked up with a sigh only to be greeted by the sight of a group of people, all with a beer in hand, in some commercial for who-knows-what. It was like the final card, placed precariously on top of the house of cards. Doesn't seem like much, but topples the whole deck.

"Dammit," Reno shouted, instinctively throwing the remote which hit the wall above the TV and clattered to the floor. Feeling like an idiot for tossing his means of control over the TV, he got up roughly and turned the TV off. Trying to ignore what he was doing, Reno grabbed shoes, jacket, and his keys before slamming the door behind him.

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Elena settled down in bed, her room paid for on the credit card supplied by Shinra. It was in the false name she was using of course. The details for this mission had been thought out flawlessly. Try as she might, she couldn't find a single glitch in the background created for her. It gave her some measure of comfort to know that. She'd gone through some waitressing training that evening. They had assured her she was doing great, and although she didn't feel completely comfortable with it yet, she was confident she could handle it. She rolled over onto her back and looked at the shadows on the ceiling. _I wonder what Reno's doing. Sleeping well, I hope. _She knew he almost never got enough sleep, but somehow he never stopped moving. She smiled, picturing his devilish smile and bright aqua eyes. With a small sigh of longing, she glanced at her phone, on the table beside the bed. _I wish I could call him. _Her real cell phone had been left at home, replaced by one without any contacts or information that could get her into trouble if it fell into the wrong hands. "Good night, Reno," she whispered out loud. Maybe he'd hear it anyway.

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Reno sat in a bar, staring morosely into the bottom of his glass. The need had hit him so hard earlier, he'd practically been in a frenzy to get to that first glass, but now that he was on his seventh, eighth, -he'd lost count by now- he felt empty. There was no satisfaction from fulfilling his desire, just guilt. Still he kept on drinking, because it was the only way he knew how to cope with the problems he faced. _If you drink enough, it will all go away. _He'd told himself that all his life, and lived by it. _Ah, but not really. It's always back the next morning with a bloody headache besides. _A slightly slurred, mocking voice dragged him from his thoughts.

"Nice hair," a man said, walking, stumbling rather, past with a few friends, "Very cute, very girly." Him and his friends laughed hysterically at the man's jab. The laughter faded from the man's face when he caught sight of the look Reno had fixed on him. Standing up, Reno slammed a fist into the man's face, knocking him into his friends and eventually onto the floor.

"Thanks," the redhead said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. Reno drained his glass, paid his tab and left. He fell asleep fairly quickly that night, the one good effect of the alcohol kicking in. It could do nothing about how disgusted he felt with himself though. _I'm sorry, Elena. I just…can't. Not without you. _His last waking thoughts were of her.

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_No, no, no, no. _Reno thought to himself as soon as he became conscious that morning. _You can't start doing this again. _He groaned and shoved his face in his pillow. It felt like knives, or pins at least, were being stabbed into his head repeatedly. He lay very still, afraid the slightest movement would make him sick. The tip of his nose touched the bed beneath him, and he could feel his warm breath swirling back in his face. It smelled like alcohol, and was making him feel sicker. Rolling over onto his back carefully, Reno threw an arm over his eyes, keeping out the burning light. He was so dizzy he almost couldn't tell what direction was up, or down. _Unusually bad hangover. _He wondered why, quickly deciding it was a mix of actual drinking and those damned withdrawal symptoms that wouldn't leave him in peace. It hurt to think, but he forced himself to do it anyway. He needed to think for a minute. _You gotta stop. You can't do that again. _He knew it was the truth, and he knew he wanted to, but he didn't know how. He tried, really and truly he did, but it was like constantly pulling against steel shackles. You could fight and pull as much as you wanted but still they would hold on with a cold metal grip. And what was accomplished? Nothing but exhausting yourself. So what was the point of fighting anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to accept it and give up? Ah, but you have to fight, you had to break free. _You can't do it yourself. _The thought drifted into his foggy mind, and suddenly his eyes popped open. It was something he'd been telling himself all along, but for some reason he only know really understood it. _You can't get away without a key, you can't go get the key yourself, someone has to bring you the key. Someone is the key. Elena is my key. _

He was surprised by how relieved he felt. Reno sighed and closed his eyes again, thinking about it more. _That doesn't help me now though. She's gone, and won't be back for awhile. I've got to hold out on my own until she's back. _All the relief he'd felt for barely a minute was gone, replaced with a grim knowledge. He knew he couldn't do it. _You gotta try anyway. It's not too long, _he tried to reassure himself, _And once she's back…well I'll never let her go again. _

Dragging himself out of bed, Reno tossed his thoughts away, too tired and too confused to think about anything anymore. Everything was in a jumble, but he knew that he would be ok once Elena came back. _And if she doesn't? _

"Shit," Reno cursed at himself out loud, scared out of his mind, "Don't even think that."

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Rude looked up at the sound of feet. His almost always expressionless face flashed quickly from surprise, to worry, and back to normal in hardly a second. Reno looked awful. Rude had hoped nothing like this would happen, but he'd known there was the possibility.

"What happened?" he said to the redhead calmly. Reno turned to look at him, jerked from his thoughts, which, from the look on his face, were dark and depressing. _It's raining in his head. _Rude watched the man, waiting for an answer. With a tiny moan, Reno flopped against the wall, letting himself slide to the floor by Rude's desk. His arms rested on his up-drawn knees. Flicking strands of his blood red hair from his face, Reno stared at the floor, his whole body shaking slightly. After a moment, he spoke, his voice low and rough.

"I…I can't do it when she's not around," Reno uttered the single sentence, but it was packed with enough emotion to cover pages. Both sat in silence for a minute, before Rude quietly got up and walked over to the filing cabinets and started flipping through files. Reno didn't even notice the man had moved until Rude was standing in front of him, holding out a smallish piece of paper. Taking it, Reno flipped it over to reveal a picture. The familiar blonde he knew and loved smiled back at him from a slightly fuzzy picture. She wasn't looking at the camera, and it appeared to have been taken from a distance. Reno held it carefully and looked for several minutes.

"Thanks," he almost whispered, looking up at Rude, who offered a hand to help him up.

"That was taken when it was first decided she would be considered for the position of a Turk. We needed a photo for her file. Obviously we don't need it anymore. You do," Rude finished his bit of talking and sat down at his desk again, going back to his paperwork as if nothing had ever happened.

Reno sat in his chair, still looking at the precious picture in his hands. Finally noticing the other things on his desk, he was relieved to find a couple of files left there by Tseng with a note.

_Do these today._

_Tseng_

Reno was glad for the tasks, it gave him something to do. He didn't want to sit around in the office all day doing nothing. Flipping quickly through the first one, he checked his gun and grabbed his EMR. Then, gently, almost reverently, Reno tucked the picture away in an inside pocket on his jacket so it would still be with him.

_Author's Note: *sighs happily* I like this chapter. Let me know if you do too. =) I know one person at least said we were getting just a bit too sappy, so I tried to make sure I didn't let Reno loose his "spark" if you will. Sadly, I don't think that really went so well...but whatever, I think it's good anyway. =) Also, another instance of stories running away on the author...I had absolutely NO intention of letting Reno have a relapse. I told myself repeatedly that he would not, I wrote it in my notes. Reno was not going to have a relapse.....I got half way through that scene before I was like..."this is a relapse" I was ok with it though. So yeah. =) I'm off to reply to my AWESOME reviews, maybe write a bit more. I have no idea what I'll end up doing before I go to bed. Anywho, hope you enjoyed this update and please review!!! Thank you! _


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's Note: So I took a long time updating, but it's an extra long chapter this time. =) Also I seem to have stumbled across a new problem. I don't really have writer's block, I just...I don't know...my inspirational well has run dry! My muses have abandoned me, I don't know. It's a lot harder to write for some reason, and I don't think it's as good. Oh well. Let me know what you think ok? Thanks guys. Enjoy!_

Elena had a break that afternoon, having been pronounced ready to serve customers. Dinner was coming soon though, so she rushed back to her room to clean up and mentally go over her file. She had every detail memorized impeccably, since she couldn't bring it with her obviously. Whispering details to herself, she showered and dressed in the crisp, cute waitress uniform. She finished brushing her blow-dried hair and slipped on the black heels she had to wear. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she wondered what to do now. Although she was in a hotel packed with people, Elena was beginning to feel quite lonely. _Just keep up the good work and you'll be home soon. _She couldn't wait for her mission to be over. As much as she enjoyed finally being trusted with such an important task, she would have preferred not to be alone. She worried about Reno too. _He'll be ok. _She thought to herself, getting up and heading out the door to start her first night of work. _He has to be. _

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Reno tapped his pen on the desk, then casually gave his chair a push and waited for it to stop spinning. When it stopped, he flipped open the first file waiting for him on the desk. Twirling the pen in his fingers, his aquamarine eyes flicked over the page. Slowly, he scrawled his messy writing onto the paper. _I can't believe I'm doing this. _Reno was filling out his paperwork for once, and actually on the same day as the mission. _What else am I gonna do anyway? _

"Done," the redhead said to Tseng a few hours later, dropping a stack of filled out paperwork on the man's desk, "Now I'm leavin'."

"Fine," Tseng looked surprised to see the paperwork. He skimmed over it quickly, and was apparently satisfied that it was not a joke. Reno didn't hang around long. With a quick wave for Rude, he left, walking quickly through the halls tapping his finger against his leg. _What the hell are you hurryin' for? _He slowed his steps, ambling home. It's not like there was anything to hurry back to. He walked with his head down, not seeing any of the people around him, but noticing every crack in the grey pavement.

When he got home, he dug around in the fridge for the pizza he'd abandoned the night before. The picture Rude had given him was set carefully on his knee, as Reno finished off the pizza in front of the TV. Somehow he managed to ignore the almost itching urge to drink. He didn't know if having the photo of the girl actually helped, but it was certainly easier to forget alcohol when he had the picture close to him. He just couldn't wait for her to be back.

Several hours later, Reno was sound asleep on the couch, the TV remote laying near his fingers, the smiling photo carefully propped up on the table.

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Elena collapsed on the fluffy bed, worn out. She'd settled easily into the routine of taking orders and serving drinks, but it was hard work. There was so much to remember and no room for error. Luckily she'd avoided any mistakes that night. Hopefully she could keep it up. Snuggling up to her pillow, she hugged herself loosely. _I wish it was Reno, _she thought drowsily.

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The next few days went in much the same fashion for both of them. Elena got more and more confident with her waitressing abilities every day, and Reno was beginning to think he actually would be ok until she got back. He missed her badly, but felt sorry for her, since she was essentially isolated, unable to contact anyone she knew.

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"Well today's the day," Tseng announced, drawing the attention from both the Turks sitting at their desks. Reno was throwing tiny wads of paper, attempting to land them all in the trash can across the room. He wasn't trying very hard, and the floor was a bit littered. "How's our target looking?"

"He's doing everything as expected," Rude replied, "He should be showing up at the airport soon."

"How do you think she's doing?" Reno asked, continuing to toss his scraps of paper even though Tseng was clearly annoyed.

"I imagine she's doing just fine," Tseng said, "We should hear from her tonight, and she should be arriving home tomorrow."

"Uh huh," Reno started aiming his seemingly careless throws, bombarding Tseng with the tiny paper missiles. Tseng narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything, choosing instead to take a step back to be out of the line of fire. Naturally, the line of fire moved with him.

"Would you stop that?" Tseng shouted, turning on the redhead. Reno faked surprise.

"Oh sure," he stopped with a blatantly fake smile, "I didn't know it bothered you. Should've asked sooner."

Tseng rolled his eyes and went back into his office. Reno grinned at Rude, who just shook his head. The redhead sighed lazily and kicked his feet up, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, Tseng!" he called, "Whatcha want me doin' today? Other than sitting here, cause I'm always glad to do that."

"Paperwork, Reno," Tseng came back out of his office with a disturbingly large stack of files and an equally disturbing smile, "You did it fine yesterday so there's no reason why you can't continue doing your own paperwork now." The stack landed on his desk with a thumb. Quickly pulling his feet down, Reno sat up straight, blinking at the stack for a minute.

"Uh…." _Damn, I walked right into that one…_ "Well ok. Why not?" Something occurred to the man and he grinned up at his boss.

"Yes, why not indeed," Tseng triumphant smile was starting to wilt as Reno stared at him with that grin they all knew much too well. Turning slowly, Tseng went back into his office, wondering if he'd just won or lost.

"Be right back," Reno said quietly to Rude before hopping up silently and slipping out of the room. Rude watched him go, briefly curious as to what the man was up to. He soon dismissed the thought, deciding he was better off not knowing.

Reno returned not too much later, a colorful box in his hand, grinning hugely. Sitting in his chair, he set the box down firmly on his desk with a satisfied air.

"Crayons?" Rude asked, staring at the box Reno had managed to get his hands on.

"Yes, crayons," Reno's smile gleamed most devilishly, "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got paperwork to do." Putting on his best 'concentration' face, he took great care in selecting a crayon from the box and began to fill out the first file, all in crayon.

Hours later, Reno smacked the last file closed, and carefully replaced the crayon he'd been using. All the paperwork was filled out impeccably, only all in crayon. He'd used every color imaginable, even taking extra long on one file to do all the letters in rainbow colors. Shoving the box into a drawer, Reno got up and brought the stack into Tseng's office.

"I finished my paperwork, sir," Reno made it sound like an insult rather than a formality. Tseng's eye twitched, but he otherwise ignored it.

"Good, leave it there, you can go now if you want," Tseng waved towards an empty corner of his desk with the pen he had in his hand. Reno turned to walk out the door, but something stopped him and he faced the man again.

"Hey," he said, slightly hesitantly, "If she calls…you will call me, right?"

"Yes, I could be persuaded," Tseng didn't even look up, "When I hear from her, I will call you."

"Thanks," Reno muttered, heading home for what he knew was going to be the longest damned night of his life.

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Elena stumbled as she slipped on her shoes. Her nerves were getting to her. If the target was going to show up, it would be tonight. She had gotten no calls today, so she was to assume everything was going as expected. So far, so good. _Now if only everything else goes just as planned. _Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Elena closed her eyes and pictured the man again. She'd done the same thing several times every day since she'd left, determined to remember all the details. She would know him the moment she saw him. Digging around in her stuff, Elena pulled out the tiny white paper packet and looked at it for a moment. She tucked it in her bra, deciding there was no way she was going to loose it. The girl took a last look around the room, making sure everything was in place. All her stuff together, nothing left behind. She had made sure not to touch a thing with her bare hands since room service had come that morning. _No fingerprints. _She was proud of that one, she'd thought of that detail herself. Putting on a smile, she stood tall and left her room, her heart fluttering around in her throat.

Elena's eyes never stopped searching the crowded dining room. Every minute that passed with no sign of the target made her that much more nervous. Wondering if she looked as ill as she felt, she took a second to glance in one of the huge mirrors on one of the walls. _Ok, not bad. _She didn't look as cool, calm, and confident as she would have liked, but at least she didn't look like she was freaking out. _Which I am!_ Elena tried to spend as much time out of the kitchen as possible. It was easier to carefully examine the guests as they came in, rather than pick out the ones that were new once they were seated. She did her best to look busy while she loitered around. Glancing again into the mirror, she almost looked away before something caught her eye and she peered closer. Turning on her heel, she picked the man out right away. He had entered quickly, looking around almost as much as she was. Elena watched him as he continued to search the crowd while being led to a small table. _That's him. _Even from this distance she recognized his face. She heard the blood roaring in her ears as his eyes appeared to rest on her, but she knew it was her imagination running away. Even as she made her way, slowly so as not to look too obvious, towards the man's table, another man entered the room, a confident, commanding air about him. This second man stood still at a distance, viewing the room with a casual attitude, as if looking for nothing in particular. It became evident to Elena, watching closely as she was, that he was looking for something, that something being her target. She loitered, not too far from the table where the target sat, as she waited for this second man to act. He soon did, calmly weaving through the crowded room.

Elena waited for the second man to reach the table before she approached. A few words were exchanged and, apparently satisfied, the second man sat down. That was her queue. Swallowing hard, Elena smiled pleasantly, at least she hoped it was a pleasant smile and not the horrific grimace she felt.

"What can I get for you gentlemen to drink this evening?" she tried to keep from staring at either of them, but it was difficult. The first man, she definitely recognized as her target, the second she recognized as well. Don Corneo's man looked just as he had in the picture, completely average. Nothing stood out, except maybe the cunning look of deviltry in his eye. Oddly enough, she almost didn't catch their replies even though her brain was running in hyper drive. Quickly jotting down their orders, she smiled and headed back toward the kitchen on slightly wobbly legs. _Don't look back, don't look back, don't look back, well maybe a little peek. _Walking through the swinging kitchen doors at an angle to disguise her glance back at them, Elena observed the two men, exchanging quiet words.

Preparing their drinks swiftly, Elena cursed herself. _Almost missed the orders there, idiot. All that focus on not appearing suspicious doesn't help much if you miss the damn drink orders! _She put the two glasses on a shiny, round, metal tray and turned to the door. _Shit! _Spinning right back around she put the tray back down. _You almost screwed yourself. _Making sure no eyes were on her, Elena subtly retrieved the paper packet containing the powder. _Ok, this one is his. _Thinking it over carefully, so as not to accidentally put it in the wrong drink, the girl added the 'secret ingredient' and stuffed the packet away again. _This is it! _Taking a deep breath, she tried to look pleasant, afraid the nauseating frown she felt would show on her face.

_Oh no, what happened? _Don Corneo's man was no longer at the table. Was she too late? No one had anticipated their deal would go that quickly. Glancing around frantically, Elena noticed that her target was still at the table, still looking incredibly nervous. _Ok, ok, if he's still here, and still freaking out, nothing's gone down yet. _She calmed herself, quickly walking towards the table. _The other guy probably just stepped out for a minute. Yeah, that's it. _

"Your drinks, sir," Elena smiled as nicely as she could manage, carefully placing the glasses down.

"Thank you," the man muttered, barely glancing at her as he grasped his glass and took a long swig to steady his nerves. Elena winced internally, feeling a pang of remorse, before steeling herself and forcing herself to walk at a normal pace back to the kitchen. It was quite a ways, and it seemed like a hundred miles in the state she was in now. Her hand on the kitchen door, she heard, amazingly over the noise, a thud followed within seconds by small screams and exclamations. She looked back. The man had fallen out of his chair, killed instantly by the poison. Nearby diners were panicking as waiters and various hotel staff rushed over to assist. She felt like everyone in the building was staring at her, which was absurd since they were all focused on the dead man. Well, not all. One man's eyes locked with hers from all the way across the huge dining hall. A frightening smile appeared on the lips of the man Don Corneo had sent. He had just exited the men's room, and taken in the scene. Elena stood frozen, eyes locked for just a second before she whirled into the kitchen.

_Damn, damn, damn. He saw you, he knows, ah, you're going to die, what are you going to do?! _She screamed at herself in her head. _Chill out, remain calm. _Letting the tray clatter onto the counter, she took deep breaths as she rushed out the door into the hallway. _Stick to the plan and everything will be fine, just fine. _She looked hurriedly up and down the hall before hopping into an elevator, satisfied that no one was watching her. The elevator did not move nearly fast enough for her tastes, and she was about to start banging her head on the wall by the time it reached her floor. Continuously looking about her, Elena went into her room, collecting her few bags and swiftly left. _Ok, got to call Tseng, get to train station. My train doesn't leave for a few hours. _She looked at the clock on her phone. Just in case the target was late, or there were complications of another kind, they had booked her on an early morning train back to Midgar, still several hours out. _Oh, that's going to be the wait from hell. _

Once she was out of the hotel, still with no further sighting of the Don's man, Elena started to feel a little better. She waited to call Tseng until she was at the train station, carefully tucked as far out of the way in the darkest corner she could find.

"Hello?" Tseng answered his phone on the second ring.

"It's me, Elena," she spoke quietly and quickly, "Mission accomplished. I'm at the train station now, waiting."

"Fantastic. I'd say go ahead and hop on an earlier train but there are no others tonight."

"I think the Don's man saw me," Elena said, breathlessly.

"Hmm, that's not ideal, but not too big of an issue. Hopefully, he won't know who you are and let it go. You'll be fine, don't worry," Tseng reassured her.

"Ok. Hey, do me a favor and tell Reno everything went fine," Elena desperately wanted to talk to the redhead herself, but she wasn't allowed to make any more calls. It was still too risky, even though she was technically through with her mission.

"He's already made me promise to call him," Tseng said, sounding the tiniest bit annoyed, "I'll see you tomorrow Elena. We'll send Reno to meet you at the station."

"Thank you!" Elena snapped her phone closed and laid her head back with a sigh, remaining completely alert. _How can I be anything BUT alert? My nerves are fried! _She never stopped glancing around, and every sound made her jump a little.

_I miss Reno so bad! _She complained to herself, smiling at the thought of being able to see him again tomorrow. Her smile grew bigger and she turned a bit pink just thinking about the kiss she was going to give him as soon as she got her hands on him. _Ah, stop it, Elena. You're letting your guard down. Focus on your actual surroundings, you'll be with him soon enough. _

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"Uh huh, thanks, Tseng," Reno hung up, and tossed his phone aside, running his hands through his hair. _She's ok. _It was a massive relief, and felt like a building had just been moved off his shoulders. He still didn't think he could bring himself to sleep though. The redhead sat on the couch all night, anxiously watching the clock, just wanting her to be home, safe and sound in his arms. _Lucky damned bastards. They got off easy. If anything had happened to her…_ He couldn't even come up with a death awful enough.

Feeling rather cold, Reno looked around lazily for a blanket. Not seeing one, he sighed and got up, plucking one off his bed and dragging it back to the couch. _No point in even tryin' to get any sleep tonight. _He could barely sleep on a good day, certainly not the night Elena was traveling back.

Reno spent the whole night on the couch. He dozed slightly here and there, awakened by the light coming through the window. Glancing at the clock, he decided he would go to the train station. _It's early yet, but what the hell. What if her train is early? _Hopping up, he grabbed his cell and practically ran out the door.

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Elena had managed to stay awake, and mildly alert until it was time for her train. The actual train ride lulled her to sleep, but she hadn't seen the man since the hotel so it was unlikely he was after her. She was wide awake by the time the train pulled into the station in Midgar. Grabbing her bags quickly, Elena peered excitedly out the window, hoping to catch sight of that fiery red hair. She didn't see him, but she knew he'd be there. Elena waited impatiently as the occupants of the crowded train pushed and shoved their way off. Once on the platform, she stood to the side, standing on tip toes and searching for Reno.

His blood red hair wasn't hard to miss, plus he was a bit taller than everyone else there. Their eyes met and it made her feel warm on the inside just to see his big smile again. He waved and she waved back, his grin mirrored on her face. Reno started walking towards her, hands in his pockets. Elena double checked to make sure she had all her bags and started walking towards him. She had to look away to ease her way through the crowd, and when she looked back to him again, she noticed him slowing to a stop. His eyes were focused on something behind her, back towards the train, and the genuine smile on his face was dissipating slowly. Suddenly, Reno's whole attitude changed. His eyes widened and his hands came out of his pockets as he started sprinting towards her. Elena stopped, confused. He was shouting something at her desperately, but she couldn't make out the words.

_Author's Note: HAH! Cliff hanger. =) First one in a long time. I will try my best to get the next chapter out soon. It's really really late so I'm going to go to bed now, please review! Thank you so much! xD_


	19. Chapter 19

_Author's Note: An update! And after that cliffhanger. =P Sorry about that guys, but it was about time I did some kind of cliffhanger. xD Oh, I reposted like a paragraph or two just so everyone gets refreshed on what was happening. So yeah...today was a dear friend's birthday, so why don't you guys go check out some of her AMAZING stories as a gift! Her penname is renoxxxXXXxxx. Something to that effect. xD But yeah. I suggest Lithium (and the sequal, Slither!) and The Reno Diet (it too has a sequal, Dry Ice). Anyway...this girl is a great author, one of my absolute favorites. So yes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! xD Back to the chapter, I haven't gotten any farther than the end of this chapter in my head so...uh...I had to stop. That's why it's a bit short. =P I need to think about what's going to happen. Anyone have any ideas, feel free to let me know. So read, review, repeat!!! And most importantly, enjoy. xD_

Elena had managed to stay awake, and mildly alert until it was time for her train. The actual train ride lulled her to sleep, but she hadn't seen the man since the hotel so it was unlikely he was after her. She was wide awake by the time the train pulled into the station in Midgar. Grabbing her bags quickly, Elena peered excitedly out the window, hoping to catch sight of that fiery red hair. She didn't see him, but she knew he'd be there. Elena waited impatiently as the occupants of the crowded train pushed and shoved their way off. Once on the platform, she stood to the side, standing on tip toes and searching for Reno.

His blood red hair wasn't hard to miss, plus he was a bit taller than everyone else there. Their eyes met and it made her feel warm on the inside just to see his big smile again. He waved and she waved back, his grin mirrored on her face. Reno started walking towards her, hands in his pockets. Elena double checked to make sure she had all her bags and started walking towards him. She had to look away to ease her way through the crowd, and when she looked back to him again, she noticed him slowing to a stop. His eyes were focused on something behind her, back towards the train, and the genuine smile on his face was dissipating slowly. Suddenly, Reno's whole attitude changed. His eyes widened and his hands came out of his pockets as he started sprinting towards her. Elena stopped, confused. He was shouting something at her desperately, but she couldn't make out the words.

Elena stared at him in confusion, her tired brain taking longer than normal to process what was happening. Realizing Reno'd been looking behind her, she turned. Don Corneo's man stood right in the doorway of the train, something small in his hand. He was looking straight at her with an evil grin. His arm came up and he threw something forcefully toward her. The grenade clattered to a stop on the ground not seven feet from her. Her eyes going wide with horror, she turned to run the other way just in time to smack into Reno. As soon as they touched, his arms locked around her tightly, crushing her against his chest, and he spun around quickly, turning her away from the explosive. They had hardly stopped moving when it blew, the force of the explosion from something so small surprisingly intense. A cry of pain was ripped from Reno's throat as the blast sent them flying, but he didn't let go of her. They hit a brick wall with a thud, Elena mostly cushioned by Reno's protective hold. Dropping to the ground, Reno still didn't let go of the girl, holding her tightly until the dust cleared.

"Are you ok?" He grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back slightly to look her over.

"Yeah," Elena replied shakily, "I'm pretty sure." Her brain was in a whirl, trying to catch up with everything that had happened in the past five seconds. "The man did follow me. I'm sorry, Reno, I tried really hard to evade him."

"It's not your fault, don't worry about it," Reno brushed the topic away hurriedly, taking his face in her hands and kissing her deeply, "I missed you, 'Laney."

"I missed yo- Reno, you're bleeding!" Elena cut herself off, taking her hand away from his back and looking with alarm at the red, sticky, blood that covered it.

"Oh," Reno muttered, craning his neck in an attempt to look at his back. The movement was painful and he winced, quickly turning his face forward again. Elena crawled around behind him and tossed his hair over his shoulder so it wouldn't be in the way.

"You've got a big cut on your back," Elena traced along side it with a finger, as lightly as possible so as not to hurt him. She slid her finger down his back, starting at the base of his neck and curving a good ways down. "You're going to have to go to the hospital," she said, although she knew mentioning it was only going to make him grumpy, "You need stitches."

"Fine," Reno grumbled, swiftly pulling himself to his feet, hissing slightly at the burst of stinging pain that tore down his back.

"Be careful," Elena reprimanded, standing up beside him and surveying the area, taking in the damage done by the Don's man. For such a little device, it had done some damage. A hole was torn in the concrete where it had been, and everything that had been near it was blown to pieces.

"I wonder what hit me," Reno muttered. Elena shrugged.

"Probably shrapnel," she glanced around at all the debris littering the area, "Plenty of it." The train station was in complete chaos, people screaming and panicking all over the place. Elena and Reno quietly picked their way out of the crowd, getting far enough away so as not to be bothered by the noise.

"We should call the others and let them know what happened," Elena said, pulling Reno's cell phone out of his pocket. Her's had been in her bag which was in hundreds of charred pieces now. She didn't really care, she hadn't brought anything important with her anyway.

"Yeah, tell them to meet us at the Shinra hospital," Reno agreed, leaning against a wall with his shoulder. He let his head fall against the wall too and he closed his eyes. Elena watched him with concern as she dialed Tseng's number. If he was bringing up going to the hospital he must really be hurting.

"Do you want us to come pick you up?" Tseng asked once Elena had finished their story. She repeated the question to Reno, who cracked an eye open and shook his head.

"It's not that much farther, just have them meet us there," he said, his voice strained.

"No, we'll go ourselves. Meet us there, ok?"

"Fine, see you soon," Tseng hung up.

"You doing ok?" Elena slipped Reno's phone back into his pocket. He nodded and pushed off the wall, trudging along beside her the short remaining distance to the Shinra infirmary which was quite close to the headquarters.

"That was annoying," Reno commented, referring to the recent explosion. Elena looked at him.

"Annoying?" she laughed, "How about scary?"

"Well, a little, I guess," he shrugged, then cast her a withering glance, "Back there, I was beginning to think you weren't going to move. And then I was afraid I wasn't gonna get to you fast enough." Elena smiled to herself. She thought it was sweet how much he worried about her.

"It's not like I would've been any worse off than you are now," she pointed out. He frowned, as if this hadn't occurred to him.

"Well yeah, but still…" he let his voice trail off as they walked into the infirmary.

Not too long later, all four Turks were gathered in a room. Reno was sitting backwards in a chair, after undergoing the delicate removal of both his jacket and his shirt. He hadn't made a sound, but winced as his back moved. Now his arms were crossed on the back of the chair and he rested his chin on them, staring at Elena. The girl was perched on the edge of the bed, relating her mission in great detail to all of them. Tseng listened and nodded, occasionally asking questions. Rude stood to the side, simply observing everything.

"Now this will only hurt a bit," a nurse said, moving Reno's hair out of the way. Her hand lingered on his bare shoulder longer than was really necessary, earning her a harsh stare from Elena. The nurse quickly turned to the bottle of antispetic and bag of cotton balls she had brought with her. Reno spit his tongue out at Elena, who rolled her eyes and continued with her story.

"Shit," Reno cursed, cringing slightly as soon as the cotton ball touched his wound, "That stings like hell. Have you ever had any of that stuff put on you?" He turned his head to look at the nurse, ignoring how much it hurt.

"No," the nurse replied, a bit confused, "Turn around, you're making it worse." She motioned for him to turn his head back, which he did, resting his chin on his arms again.

"Then why did you tell me it would only hurt a little?" Reno knew he was being ridiculous, but when had that ever bothered him? "If you've never felt it, there's no way you can know how it feels. You lied to me. I can never trust anything you say." With a sense of finality, Reno ended the mostly one-sided conversation, with a grin and a wink for Elena.

"Idiot," Tseng muttered, looking at the redhead, while the poor nurse continued her work, looking utterly bemused.

"Here," said the nurse, handing Reno a few pills which he tossed back at once, with the ease of long practice, "Well, I was going to get you a glass of water…" she looked mildly surprised, but continued moving about the room collecting what she needed.

"Oh," Reno blinked, and watched the items she was collecting with vague interest.

"I'm going to stich you up now," she announced, not moving, as if waiting for confirmation.

"I suppose this will only hurt a bit?" Reno smirked, speaking with utter insolence.

"Um…" the nurse stammered for a minute, before composing herself, "Actually, yes. I just gave you painkillers." She smiled, obviously pleased with herself for stumping him.

"Oh, bravo! What _amazing_ foresight," Elena clapped her hands in a slow, sarcastic rhythm. One eyebrow was raised and she smirked. The nurse just looked embarrassed, but Reno turned to Elena quickly, highly amused. He grinned at the blonde, whose eyes twinkled in return.

"Are you going to finish telling me about your mission, Elena?" Tseng asked, looking up expectantly.

"Yeah," Elena carried on with her tale. Reno kept watching her, watching her lips as they moved, her eyes as they turned dark or light depending on the mood of her story, her whole body which moved slightly with the story, as if she was reliving it. He barely even twitched when the nurse began to sew him up, the painkillers had kicked in well enough and it mostly just felt strange.

"Alright, you're good to go," the nurse handed him a bottle of pills with a huge smile, "The dosage is on the bottle."

"Thank you for your help, you can go assist someone else now," Elena hopped off the bed, took the bottle from Reno, and dismissed the nurse, "I didn't like her," she said once the lady had left.

"Yeah, I think everyone noticed," Reno smirked, carefully slipping his shirt back on, "Jealous?"

"No," Elena crossed her arms and tossed her hair, "Not really…maybe…yes."

"Aw, you know you don't have to worry about other women, 'Laney," Reno grinned, speaking teasingly, but with a touch of softness. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her up next to him, planting a light kiss on her cheek.

"Well, I believe I have all the information I need for now," Tseng said, "Take the day off you two. You might as well also, Rude. You can fill out the paperwork tomorrow, Elena."

"Thanks," the girl said, barely taking her eyes off Reno long enough to glance at Tseng.

_Author's Note: You like? xD Drop me a review and let me know! Oh, just because I'm random, I watch America's Got Talent on NBC and David Hasselhoff is so f***** annoying!!! He's such a creeper too. *rant* =) I needed to get that out. So yes, this story is actually coming VERY close to the end...it was a bit anti-climactic for my tastes but...well no story is perfect. Although, if things go as planned, my next chapter story should come damn close. xD lol. I'm so humble, yes, yes I know! I really want some orange sherbert. And yes, it is past midnight, and yes, I still want it. =P So I think I'm done rambling for now...I look forward to reading your reviews and hopefully replying. It wasn't working the other day when I tried. I'm off to try again. Wish me luck! xD_


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's Note: First of all, PATHETICALLY SHORT UPDATE! But that's because it's the end. Yes, this is it folks! xD I really had absolutely no idea how the end was going to go so I was sort of just randomly writing, and it just ended itself. So there you have it. That's why this was not just thrown on at the end of the last chapter. So, if you want some good music to go with this chapter, I highly suggest "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional. =) Also, one of my dear reviewers pointed out to me that last chapter I misspelled, "stitch". Embarrassing huh? xD Not really, considering I was writing that well after midnight. =P My brain turns off at eleven really. xD What I don't understand is why my computer didn't tell me it was spelled wrong...normally it underlines in red the stuff that's misspelled...I think it was just mad at me for keeping it up. My computer has an attitude, I tell you. =P So whatever...I apologize for typos. Again, I don't even read through what I type so what you read is what I wrote the first time around. I will probably go through all my stories and revise them one day...but not until I have no more story ideas which will probably be when I'm 80 or something. xD I'm SO excited to start on my next chapter story! It's going to be so fun. So be sure to suscribe to author alert so you will know when I post my new stories!!! Thank you guys for reading, and reviewing (those of you that do so), and I really appreciate you guys sticking with me! So I'll let you get to the story, ENJOY!!!_

"Ah, it's so good to be home!" Elena walked through the door, taking a deep breath, "Have you been sleeping there?" She pointed to the blanket thrown across the couch.

"What?" Reno looked tiredly where she gestured, "Oh, yeah I did. Once or twice."

"Hmm," Elena absentmindedly picked up the empty pizza box sitting on the table and threw it away, "Here you can take these now." She quickly read the lable on the bottle of painkillers from the hospital, and handed the dose to Reno.

"I'm gonna go sleep now," Reno blinked sleepily, after taking the pills she gave him.

"Yeah, I'm a little tired too. Didn't get much sleep last night," Elena smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest with a sigh. "Let's find you something to wear," she suggested, her fingers coming into contact with the rip in his jacket and shirt.

"How's this?" Reno found a t-shirt on the bed.

"That's fine, just as long as it's something soft," she felt the fabric critically, "Should do."

"You're more concerned about stuff hurting me than I am," Reno laughed, trying to take off his jacket without sending bolts of fire down the cut on his back. Elena stood in front of him, undoing the buttons on his shirt.

"Well, it's because I care," she leaned in and pecked him lightly on the mouth, "A lot. Now put this on." She handed him the t-shirt and went in search of some comfortable clothes of her own.

"You could just wear that," Reno suggested with a smirk, the moment she slipped out of her pants.

"Ha ha," she shot him a withering look, and pulled on her baggy sweatpants, "I'm taking a nap now, Reno. Don't you dare disturb me."

"Aw, but that's no fun," he whined playfully, flopping down on the bed, making her bounce. When she didn't reply, he crawled over to where she was curled up and settled next to her, sliding an arm around her waist. "Fine, have a nap, but I'll get you later."

"You sound like you're going to kill me," Elena laughed, opening her eyes and turning her head to look at him. Feeling suddenly emotional, she rolled over and cuddled as close to him as she could get, pressing her face against his chest. "I missed you, Reno."

"Yeah, I know," his voice was serious, having lost it's teasing quality. He held her tightly, feeling relieved to have her in his arms again, feel her steady breaths against his neck, her smooth curves beneath his hands. "I love you, 'Laney," he whispered, slightly annoyed at how shaky his voice sounded. Elena heard it too.

"Are you ok?" she asked, her fingers gently stroking his chest.

"Yeah," Reno smiled, even though no one could see it, "Yeah, I am ok."

_Author's Note: Well that's it. The END! *gasp* It's kind of weird to be done with something you've been doing every night for months, ya know? So strange. At least I have plenty more to do. =P Next I'll be posting a RenoxElena oneshot request from The Sacred and the Profane. He's got some good stories, go check them out. =) He writes so well I don't know what he wants me to write for, but whatever. xD OH! NARIL POST YOUR STORY!!!!! =P When it is posted, I will tell everyone in my author's notes to go read it. Also, ToWriteLoveOnHerArms08, I know your internet is down, but when it gets back up you'd better post like ten chapters. =P I'm dying over here people come on!!! Oh, and to add insult to injury (using figure of speech =P) renoxxxXXXxxx, my all time favorite author hasn't updated in like...ten days!!! *gasp* I'm SERIOUSLY going to die now. She left me on a cliffie too!!!! So everyone, go read Lithium and The Reno Diet by that author. She's the best, both those stories have sequals, which are the stories I'm waiting on to be updated by her. =P She's awesome, it will be worth your time! Anywho, thanks so super hugely much for reading and please leave me a review and let me know what you thought!!! Also suscribe to author alert so you know when I post a new story, k? THANK YOU GUYS SO FREAKIN MUCH!!! xD You rock. Wake up and tell yourself that every morning. =P Ok, I'm done talking now. I've had a LOT of sugar today..... A LOT!!! =P _


	21. Chapter 21

_Author's Note: HEY GUYS!!! I've got my new story out, 'The Beginning'. I actually came up with the title myself this time, hurrah!! It still sucks but it's better than like, 'Story 5', or something. T_T So anyway, just letting you all know. Please do me a huge favor and go check it out! If you like it so far, subscribe to story alert! And please drop me a review and let me know what you think, k? THANK YOU GUYS, YOU ROCK!!!! =) _


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